


Irene Belserion: Queen of the Fairies

by Squeakyclarinet



Series: Fairy Tail: Secret Sage Saga [1]
Category: Fairy Tail
Genre: Action, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Cross-Posted on FanFiction.Net, Dragons, Fairy Tail Dragon Slayers, Family, Friendship, Gen, Mages Guild, Motherhood, Pre-Canon, Single Parents
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-18
Updated: 2020-09-14
Packaged: 2021-03-06 08:01:46
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 13
Words: 49,924
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25966294
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Squeakyclarinet/pseuds/Squeakyclarinet
Summary: Irene Belserion has been through more than any other person has in the past four centuries. But after everything she's been through, she decide's that a little more sacrifice would be worth it, if it meant her daughter could have a normal live. But normal life has been long outside her reach, and she quickly finds her family growing.Whether she'd like it to or not.
Series: Fairy Tail: Secret Sage Saga [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1921465
Comments: 17
Kudos: 44





	1. I Am Not You, And You Are Not Me

The sound of shrill crying echoes out through the secluded valley. It deafens the nature around it, like a strange siren, scaring away all life in the vale. All life but the one that it calls for, its mother. Irene Belserion lays exhausted next a secluded lake with the crying child, both wrapped in nothing but simple clothes. Her scarlet hair had become a mess of red sprawling across her from the chaotic few minutes, or had it been hours? She couldn’t tell, only that it had been an arduous task. But however long it had been, it was nothing compared to the hell she had been put through. _It’s finally over…._

Three years tortured and abused by her own kingdom, her own _husband_. Another four hundred trapped as a dragon, isolated from the world, trying to cure her cursed body, only for someone to miraculously change her back. She finally thought she had found a way to appear as she once was, but it was nothing but a lie. Her body wasn’t a replacement, but a disguise that could hide the truth to others, but only reflected how fraudulent they were to the one wearing it. Her senses were wrong, things that should be natural felt impossible. But she finally had the key to her agony, and it had been along with her this entire journey. She swept back her hair, finally getting a look at the life she held in her hands and seeing a small mop of crimson color mirrored on its head. On _her_ head.

“It’s a girl… I’m so glad…” The sorceress huffed. After all this planning, it would be awkward if it was a boy, or worse, looked like the father, but beggars couldn’t be choosers. Not that it would matter in time. She would shape her in time, to be just like herself, a little copy. This was a chance to put all the heartache behind her. A chance at a real life.

“She will be my new body. My new life.”

“Once I Enchant myself into her, I can bid farewell to this cursed body forever!”

“I have waited four hundred years for this moment. Now, you will be my vessel!”

Everything was quiet now. The baby had ceased her cry, finally recognizing the one holding her as her mother. She simply sat there staring up at Irene with a simple smile, oblivious to the dark thought’s clouding the one cradling her. Irene couldn’t help but stare back, just as mesmerized. But just as quick as it began, the moment was over, as the newborns face contorted and grimaced, beginning to wail again. Something seized in Irene’s heart, and she acted without thinking. She quickly but gently began rocking her arms, bringing the bundle closer towards her,

“ _no no no, it’s okay, everything’s fine_.” She began speaking softly, completely distinct from the almost manic muttering that had recently overcome her. _What am I Doing?_ She couldn’t believe she had acted like that. _What does it matter how she feels? she’s not going to be anything after I’m done._ But after the baby had calmed down and began smiling again, she couldn’t help but return the gesture. _That’s right, the reason I waited all this time, tried to go back for so long. It was because of her_. This baby wasn’t her property to do with as she pleased, but her sole reason for living through this hell. So that her child wouldn’t have to do the same.

It was almost as if seeing her child had strengthened her heart. That she would be able to handle any problems that came her way, if it meant protecting her child. _That’s right, we are different…_

“I am not you, and you are not me.” _And the first difference will be her name…_

* * *

“Erza Belserion!”

“Y-yes mom?” a rather shocked 9-year-old stuttered, trying to look like everything was perfectly normal.

It obviously wasn’t, if the bruises on her body and scuff’s all over her simple clothes were any indication.

“Did you get in a fight _again_?” Irene looks rather disappointedly at her. This had been the third time this _week_ Erza had gotten into a fight.

“Everyone keeps picking on Kagura and Simon. Someone has to stick up for them.” Erza pouted, clearly tired of explaining this to her mother. The Mikazuchi’s were one of the poorer people in their small village of Rosemary, which seemed to make them popular targets of the other children in the village. But they were also the most accepting of the Belserions, even though she could use magic, something many out in these parts had little experience with. _Fellow outcasts, I suppose_. Unfortunately, Erza was a lot like her mother in more than one, and she couldn’t help but defend those she cared about without a care of consequences.

“Surely there are better ways to help them by punching everyone else. All that happens is they pick on you instead.” Irene questions, trying not to let the thoughts of the past dwell. _It never ends well…_

“Good! I won’t let them hurt my friends while I’m around!” Erza proclaims proudly.

“No one would get hurt if you didn’t keep escalating the situation.” Irene rebutted quickly. Erza seemed to need a moment to understand what her mother had meant but responded just as bluntly.

“Well maybe no one would mess with me if you taught me magic.” Erza declares, before crossing her arms, pouting and turning her head so hard that her hair flew into her face. The show of rebellion losing power as she tried to blow the red strands out of her eyes. Irene couldn’t help but sigh. It appeared every conversation between the two of them ended up back to the same topic.

“Maybe after your next birthday…” she says robotically, with all the emotion of one as well.

“You said that last year…” Erza whispered, almost to low for Irene to catch, before looking her mother right in the face with a determined glare. “You said that magic for protecting those important to you! If I can’t learn it now, then I never will!” She countered decisively. She was a clever girl, already a master of throwing an adults’ words back at them. It was getting harder and harder to put this off.

“… I’ll think about it.” Irene says simply, before turning back to making dinner. Erza seemed to stand there, unable to determine if she had finally gotten through or not, before going to her room to ~~sulk~~ rest. It’s not that Irene didn’t think her daughter couldn’t learn magic, or that she would misuse it… that much. But her daughters magic would almost certainly be just like her own. Just like her hair, just like her personality, _Like she’s me- STOP, enough about that_. Irene tilted her head toward Erza’s room and announced that dinner was ready. _I need to re-calibrate._

* * *

After the two redheads sat in awkward calm for a time, Irene finally decided to be the bigger woman (figuratively, at least) and finally break the silence.

“I’m going to the city for some errands, but I should be back before dinner tomorrow, but I’m leaving Juliet and Heine in charge until I’m back.” She says, expecting Erza to make some comment about not being a baby anymore.

“I’m not baby, I don’t need anyone watching me. Let me just sleep over at Simon’s.” Erza declares grumpily, as expected.

“Absolutely not, especially since you can’t seem to go there without getting into a fight.” Irene lectures to her. But before Erza can say her piece, she finishes by declaring tantalizingly “IF you can manage to not cause a problem for them, I might get you a beginner book for magic.” Erza suddenly straightened up, looking at her mother with eyes staring her intently. _Gotcha_ …

* * *

Some would probably say using enchanted swords given will and body was as babysitters was irresponsible. A misuse of its proper purpose. To that Irene would say that the users of these powers never had to take care of children. Durable, strong, loyal to a fault, and she didn’t have to provide them much beyond some magical energy. Of course, they had one main problem of being rather… random. She had developed the personality enchantment during her time in exile, as one of the many failed attempts at turning her back to ‘normal’. While they seemed to understand the basics of humanity, they obviously lacked experience interacting with them. Irene had tried to solve this by having them read book she had picked up through the years of travel to help understand the details. Unfortunately, this only seemed to make them even more inhuman to talk to, as the books she had on hand all happened to be rather ancient. So now they had moved on to more modern writings, primarily romance novels.

These novels were far more effective at providing the two impromptu babysitters with ‘proper’ human interactions. They also provided a very effective distraction, allowing a certain rebellious child to wander off. Erza peeked into the living room window, only to see a blonde and bluenette draped over the couch and themselves, lazily flipping the pages of their books. _Perfect._ Erza couldn’t help but feel giddy. She ran off into the night sky. She was happy to hang out with her friends, and excited to finally be able to learn magic. She couldn’t wait to be just like her mom.

She saw lights on around town and could hear lots of noises coming from the square. Odd, she couldn’t remember there being a festival today. She smiled brightly.

“I wonder if Simon and Kagura are still awake!”

* * *

Irene couldn’t help but feel free, up in the sky. Thousands of feet up, she was the only living being up this high, nigh invisible to the ground below. She glided on the currents with her grand wings, feathers, fur, and scales all feeling the breeze. As much as she hates this body, when she’s like this everything about her feels right. These flights were one of the few things she could do to stay sane. Occasionally, she made these trips to spread her wings and rest.

Because living as a human was _tiring_.

Nothing tasted properly, sleep was impossible (even if she could stay awake for ages now), and eventually her senses started to betray her. Hearing voices that she shouldn’t here, not being able to control her strength, and smelling to many things at once. She only found one solution to these problems. Using her ‘true’ form for something. Sometimes she goes for a flight, other times she’ll find a large body of water to swim in. But often times she simply finds the tallest mountain, makes a hole in it, and has a nap. After enchanting to minimize her prescience, no one would be able to find and disturb her. _Speaking of…_

A familiar peak began to make its way over the horizon. Her favorite napping spot carved out herself and marked with charms that subconsciously ward of wild animals and curious hikers alike. She slowed as she approached, holding her wings out like a net, catching the wind and perching onto the ridge that hosted her cave. She slowly wandered in, inspecting each corner for any intrusions, before settling in the middle. She rested her head down and slowly closed her eyes, happy to get some real rest for the first time in weeks.

_thump, thump, thump… THUMP._

Irene’s eyes snapped open suddenly. She felt a surge of magic flowing throughout her, the feeling of one of her enchantments being broken. _What…?_

Irene got up as slowly and quietly as one can as a building sized dragon and looked around her cave but saw nothing. She poked her head outside to find it was still night. In fact, it had only been a few minutes since she’d dozed off. She pushed her magical senses outward to the charms and wards around her sanctuary, but all was as it should, and there weren’t any other magic sources outside of- _THUMP._

There it was again, almost the same as before! Irene was on edge now trying to determine the source of this seeming attack. _I don’t understand, my enchantments keep getting broken, but I can’t see anything happening_. She thought frantically. _That can’t be, these are the only enchantments other than…_

Irene’s massive frame suddenly stilled, as if frozen by time itself. A sickening thought crossed her mind.

_Enchantments…_

_Two of them…_

_At the same time…_

_Not here…_

_Only one other place…_

A bellowing roar suddenly was heard from the top of the mountain, a terrifying wail. Its volume drowning out the specifics, but conveying the intended emotions all the same. A equal mix of worry… and rage.

**_“ERZA!”_ **

If time seemed to have stopped her before, she was now in fast forward. Irene launched up with a boost of magic that rendered the side of the mountain a pile of rubble, shaking the earth itself. She only focused on moving as fast as she could, enchanting her wings, her body, even the wind itself. She quickly broke the speed barrier, half-mindedly using her magic to shield herself of the recoil of the powerful feat. She wasn’t sure how long she flew for. She didn’t slow down at all, not even when she saw the pillars of smoke in the distance, or when her nose picked up the smell of fire and blood below her. She landed in the center of town, still in dragon form. She stood up on her hind legs and put her wings in front of her, drawing energy.

**_“NULLA IGNIS…”_ **

The draconic beast she had become said lightly, coming of as a bellowing rumble. When she flung her wings open there was a mighty gust of wind, and a wave of her enchantment magic along with it putting out the fire wherever it touched. She could see and smell dead bodies all around her, but there was only person she was interested in. She tried to detect any magic around, looking for the natural energy every person produces. Despite her amazing senses now, it still took a half dozen tries for her to finally find a single living thing, a young child’s energy. _Please be her!_

Irene quickly changed back to her human form, but didn’t bother to change her mannerisms, floating toward the being in a near-trance. She finds herself unable to recognize anything as nearly everything within the village that could be burned had been. The whole town had been transformed from something out of a vibrant canvas to a charcoal painting. By the time she finally found the source of the magic, the sun had begun to rise. What she found however, was an odd sight all things considered.

Among all the carnage sat a wooden box. It was barely 3 feet wide or tall with a simple lid on top, lacking any lock. Judging by the collapsed and smoldered remains next to it, it had been along the wall of a house. Yet despite the ruin next to it, the box was completely unburned. She wiped her hand along the top, removing the darkness on top that was ash and debris, leaving an old, if unburned wooden hatch. She tentatively began to open it, only or set of small limbs to fly out and start flailing. Irene was so caught off guard that she stepped backward, only to trip backwards over a fallen plank. By the time she had used her arms to sit up, the lid of the box flew up, and a black-haired child popped out running and yelling at her with all the fight or flight response a 6-year-old could muster.

“You won’t take me! Come at me you meanies!”

Irene recognized the child, it was Kagura Mikazuchi, her daughter’s friends. Kagura clearly recognized her as well, as she stopped moving for a moment before tearing up and launching herself into the woman still on the floor. After a minute of trying to collect her thoughts, Irene did the only thing she could think of and asked what happened. Kagura looked up at her and words started flowing faster than she could keep track of.

“E-Erza came over to play with me and my brother, b-but a bunch of scary people showed up and set our house on fire and then they set everything on fire and started chasing us a-and…”

“Breathe…” Irene said gently, trying to prevent the child from panicking. After another minute Kagura finally began speaking again, turning to look at the ground instead of Irene now.

“We had nowhere to go but Simon distracted them, and we tried to run. But we got cornered again and they were about to find us. But then Erza said to go in that box and stay quiet, and that she was going to go get help. They didn’t find me, b-but Erza… I heard them take her. She protected me and got hurt again. It’s all my fault, I’m so sorry!”

Kagura began crying again, and hugged Irene tightly. But all Irene could do was sit there and blame herself. Maybe if she had stayed stronger and hadn’t left or had taught Erza some real magic to defend her friends, this wouldn’t have happened. But it had, and looking up at the wasteland around her, she could think of one thing to do now. _Save Her_. She had done it for the past four centuries, and she will continue to do so.

And anyone who gets in her way will be burned to _ash_.

Next Chapter: Tower of Heaven


	2. Tower of Heaven

Lahar was not having a good day. As a newly minted Captain in the Custody Enforcement, his unit had been immediately called on by the Magic Counsel to respond to a disturbance in some backwater village in the corner of Fiore. Apparently, there were multiple recordings of large magical surges heading in direction of the village. While Lahar had thought it was probably an error, he wasn’t one to disappoint his superiors so recently after a promotion. Thus, he woke his unit in the dead of night and traveled out to the last recorded source of the phenomena. Luckily, they had taken one of the Councils own supply airships out to a nearby city, meaning they only had to march for a couple hours instead of a couple of days.

Not that it made a difference.

About a village over, they heard reports of smoke and ash falling from the sky in the morning by the locals. He remembers the reports coming across his desk about a recent spike in villages being pillaged, mostly in outlying towns that rarely received visits, resulting in these attacks being reported days or weeks after the fact. After double timing it to their destination, they reached the presumed village by noon. Though the key word here being _was_. From the hill his unit stood on, nothing in eyesight could be recognized as a part of small-town life. There wasn’t a single thing for miles that hadn’t been touched by the blaze that had clearly swept through, but as far as he could see, there wasn’t anything _still_ on fire. Which Lahar found even odder considering there hadn’t been evidence of rain, and he doubted a blaze of this expected size would simply die down in a single night.

It took a minute for Lahar to realize that all his men were looking at him expectantly, waiting for orders. He quickly snapped out of his thoughts and turned back to face his men, and quickly began barking out orders. “Squad A look for any survivors! Squad B, try and figure out what happened-”

“That won’t be necessary.” A feminine voice declared behind him. Many of his men were suddenly on guard. Lahar quickly snapped around, expecting an enemy attack. But what he saw was a redheaded woman in intricate clothing, with a large pointed hat, and a staff in one hand that split off and pointed around in many directions at the top, like a pair of antlers. What drew his attention the most however, was what the woman held in her other hand. A child.

The girl couldn’t be much older than 5, and she had her arms around the mysterious woman’s neck, looking at Lahar in his crew like they were monsters about to eat her. Lahar tried not to think about the little one’s fearful gaze, instead focusing on the look of the one holding her. It was a surprising calm gaze at first glance but a second made it clear that whatever emotions she was channeling didn’t line up with her exterior. It took all of Lahar’s will to not look away from the pressure.

“Who are you? What happened here!?” Lahar couldn’t help but declare authoritatively. Despite trying to remain professional, the words couldn’t help but come out fearfully. _This was just supposed to be a false alarm…_

“My name is Irene, I’m a mage who lived in this village. The village was attacked by cultists.” She declared quickly.

Lahar couldn’t help but be annoyed by such a non-plussed answer. _What, that’s all she has to say?_ “What happened to everyone, and the fire?” Lahar declared again.

“They took all the children, and the adults…” She glanced at the child in her arms before changing topics suddenly. “…And I put some of the fire out with my magic.”

_Some? There isn’t so much as a spark in town! Who is this woman…?_

“How did you get here so quickly?” The woman asked inquisitively. Lahar was caught of guard from the sudden question, and automatically answered truthfully.

“We sensed a bunch of high-level magic heading toward the village-” He quickly stopped himself when he realized that he wasn’t supposed to be giving information like that away freely.

“I see….” Irene seemed to flinch at that, before immediately launching into another question. “What are you going to do about the Cultists?”

Lahar was starting to get annoyed by the turn this interrogation was taking and decided to put his foot down. “We will report this to the Magic Council, and they will follow the proper procedures for this. For now, just let us investigate this matter and let us escort you back to the city-”

“I can find them.”

Lahar stopped himself. He looked at the mage in front of him with an annoyed expression at being interrupted again, but when he realized what she had said his expression changed more seriously. Is she being truthful? She had claimed to put out the fire here, and circumstantial evidence seemed to support it. If she truly was a mage of that caliber, then would it be that much of a stretch that she could find the ones responsible? Lahar didn’t know what to think anymore, but he believed that there wasn’t anything wrong with hearing her out.

“…Go on.”

* * *

Irene stood at the bow of the ship, leaning against the railings as it bobbed lightly in the ocean. To many this trip might seem relaxing. But to Irene it was hell. Not only because she was waiting to find something that might not even be out there. Not only because her daughter has been in the hands of those monsters for more than 24 hours.

But because she was also seasick, and none of her magic seemed to solve the problem.

_Is it because of the difference in my senses throwing me off?_ Irene tried to keep a straight face as she looked stoically into the never-ending distance of the sea. Luckily, she could still focus enough to use her sensory magic to it’s utmost potential, even if it was becoming tiring after six hours. _I really need to have that nap…_

If she was only looking for one unique kind of magic, one that only she could use, then she should be able to notice it within 100 km. Even that wouldn’t have been of much use to Irene though, as searching the entire planet like that would take years, even in her dragon form. Fortunately, the Magic Counsel had been dealing with this problem for a while now (Too long if you asked her) and could minimize the search area considerably. She thought back to the briefing he had attended before departure.

* * *

_-6 Hours ago-_

_“Alright listen up” Lahar yelled, getting the attention of the Rune Knights within the briefing room by smacking the empty chalkboard behind him with his staff. When he did so the magical lights dimmed and writing and drawing from a light pen suddenly appeared on the board. The information was extensive, from mission objectives, to crew assignments. But most importantly was a map of Fiore, with a noticeable circle around the southeastern sea._

_Lahar gave the men assembled another moment to observe the new information, before pushing his glasses up and beginning his briefing in earnest. “Thank you coming to this mission briefing on such short notice. However, we have recently received some information that must be acted on immediately.” Lahar acknowledged. “For those unaware of the reason for such rush, allow me to explain…”_

_Lahar tapped his staff against a nearby lacrima, which began projecting images of dark robed men. Many were mid fight, casting magic that was clearly unnatural. Lahar began speaking again as the lacrima began switching to different pictures, allowing all those around to see what they would be dealing with. “These people are cultists, practitioners of forbidden black arts. We believe this group is related to a similar group we thought we put down years ago. They had invested large sums of money to build towers all over Fiore for something called the R-System. Eventually the Magic Council discovered these buildings’ true purpose as conduits of dangerous power, and the sites were decommissioned and dismantled, and all their members arrested.” He gestured over his left shoulder at the map of Fiore, containing seven crosses on it, like a treasure map. “We found seven towers, but data gathered from the remains suggested an eighth site. We were never able to find evidence of a location, and their members went underground. We believe these recent kidnappings are for the purpose of labour now that official means have been blocked.”_

_A sharp cough could be heard from the corner of the room. Lahar spared a glance, finding Irene giving her a ‘get on with it’ look. Or a ‘I’ll kill and eat you later’ look, he couldn’t tell with her. Some Knights in the room turned to look at the woman with confusion or annoyance, wondering who she was treating a captain of the Rune Knights so disrespectfully. They could clearly tell she was a mage but wasn’t wearing the uniform of the Rune Knights. Before he could let people get distracted any further, he simply coughed back, and began speaking again as if nothing had happened._

_“Our experts have suspected that the cultists operate in the southeast, as they have been noticed heading in that direction, yet nothing on land has been found in our search. This leads us to suspect the final tower is in the ocean, somewhere off the coast of the Caelum Kingdom. Our searches have proved futile however, as the area is well known for its fog. I wouldn’t be surprised if the cultists are manipulating that fog somehow to throw off any investigations. But we should have a way around that now.” Lahar tilted his head over to Irene, happy to let her finally introduce herself and get everyone to calm down._

_Irene noticed her cue but didn’t bother moving from her spot in the corner. “They took two of my magic items when they attacked my village. If I can pick them up with my magic, I should be able to head straight to them.”_

_Or she could barely say anything and cause more confusion. “Err, yes. As Irene here has explained, she will track down the cultists using her lost magic items. She will stay in the lead ship, while the rest will follow. They will provide transport to the rest of the Rune Knights, and for any prisoners we find on the trip back. Now any questions?” Nearly the entire room raised their hands, and some had already began speaking out loud. This will take a while…_

_But before he could even think about trying to answer any of the questions, one voice cut through the others with what could be called aggressive annoyance._

_“Are these questions really worth wasting time here. My child is in trouble. Let’s go save her already.”_

_All eyes turned to Irene, who was already walking out the door. Once she had left, the rest had turned back to face Lahar, some looking guilty or anxious to leave suddenly. While Irene had certainly been blunt, he secretly appreciated calming the room (or at least silencing it). When Lahar realized that no one wanted to ask questions after that display, he decided it best to follow her que._

_“All Captains, check your assigned boat and assemble at the docks in 20.” He said, before also abruptly walking out the door to the lead ship._

* * *

Irene was snapped back from her thoughts by a familiar feeling. Two magical signatures, to similar and detailed to be anything other than Juliet and Heine. All feelings of vertigo left her mind as she turned her back to the bow, running up toward the helm of the ship where Lahar stood.

“I can sense them!” she said, getting the crews attention. Suddenly everyone was alert.

“Where.” Lahar tried to clarify. Irene turned toward the bow and reached her magic out, pushing the nausea aside as she tried to give a more nautical direction to the crew than ‘nearby’.

“…turn to 2 o clock and hold…” Irene began giving directions, yelling out a new heading every few minutes. As time went on, they began moving deeper into a wall of fog, cutting of nearly all sense of sight. “This fog is definitely magic I can feel it.” Despite the claim, she kept on giving directions. Suddenly she just said to head straight to the helmsman and walked back out to the bow. After a moment of nothing, Lahar was about to ask if she had gotten something wrong, when there was a sudden brightness. The crew adjusted their eyes and found that they had exited the fog.

They also had found their target.

Ahead of them was a structure of almost alien design. To call it a tower would be generous, even if it was most likely unfinished. Other than a couple stories above the base of the island, there was nothing one would associate with a livable structure. If there was something to relate it too, one might say it looked like a giant beanstalk, or a pillar of vines, wrapping upwards almost to the clouds itself. The fact that a structure of such scale remained hidden from the Council all these years was both impressive and infuriating to Lahar. Such talents, just to use it for evil ends. It was a waste.

Lahar turned his head behind him to see the rest of his fleet of ships sailing through the fog as well. He couldn’t help but be positive. After all this time, they finally found it. _Great, time to land and-_

_*BOOM*_

Lahar nearly fell over from the sudden shockwave that exploded of the starboard of the ship. Lahar returned his focus towards the island. He could already here alarms from here and saw several more flashes of light along the coast. He acted quickly, putting his hand down on a communications lacrima near the wheel and transmitting to the rest of the fleet. _“Put all magic into shields and engines! We can’t risk hurting innocents with a counterattack! Make landfall as soon as possible!”_ The voice crackled out. Glowing barriers could be seen lighting up in front many of the ships, and he braced a nearby railing as his ship began to pick up speed.

“I’ll go on ahead.” Irene declared suddenly. She floated up, before rocketing away by her own power. By the time Lahar had time to protest, she was already halfway to the shore.

* * *

She couldn’t take waiting anymore. Once through the fog, Irene was able to detect magical energy much clearer, confirming that Juliet and Heine were indeed located here. They appeared to be located at the base of the tower. Irene decided that would be her first stop on her little tour. The sound of blasts bellowed out again behind her, and water splashing from a rushed volley of cannon fire. But first, she supposed she should do something about that racket.

There were about a dozen magical cannons located on the beach she was fast approaching. They had yet to fire at her, not that they would do any real damage, distracted by the much larger ships approaching flying the Magic Councils colors. Keeping speed, she swept her staff arm in front of her, drawing magic into the heavily enchanted piece into the wood. She then swung it back, releasing the accumulated power. A dozen of her own shots launched out toward the cannons on the beachhead, balls of unattuned magic flying at random angles to avoid being intercepted.

Her shots reached the cannons right when she reached the sandy beach. The artillery all went up in a cloud of debris, but she didn’t have time to admire her handiwork. She simply held her staff in front of her and used the staff’s antler-like head as a ram, bashing through the front door like a bull. She continued the approach further into the structure, angling up through ceiling and wall alike towards her own magical energy.

Finally, she reached her destination. Bursting through a metal door she found herself inside of what she presumed past as a laboratory in this hellhole of a tower. All over the room, there were workbenches with many tools that would be used to examine and fix magical items. But in the center was a round table and laying on said table were two swords. One black and the other white. She de-equipped her staff, putting it away with Requip magic. She grabbed the two weapons by the handles and pumped the magic into them required to activate their personality enchantments again. Soon they began to glow, and Irene released them as they floated in are, the magic in the swords beginning to exit the swords and form bodies. Just then a noise could be heard behind her, and Irene turns her head to see some fat man in the same cultist apparel as the others, with only a set of comically large specs covering his face.

“How dare you break in here, dog of the Council! I’ll show you to mess with my to-MPPH!”

Before the cultist can even finish his threat, he finds himself wrapped in black ribbons from mouth to toe, and dragged on over to Irene, wriggling like a worm the whole way.

“Let me shut this disgusting worms’ mouth for you my lady” the professional voice said as the owner of said voice walked to the left of Irene looking at the worm in question.

“Thank you, Heine. However, I would like it uncovered. The man was about to tell me where his friends took the children that arrived last night, after all.” Irene said as she gave a look to her newly revived help, who gave a knowing smirk back. The wrapping around the worm’s mouth loosened. It immediately opened its mouth, filling it with garbage.

“Go to hell! Why should I tell you anything?!”

“ _BZZT_ , wrong answer!” The cheerful voice to Irene’s right declared excitedly. “You know what that means…” Juliet jumped forward, miming she was holding something. She then jerked her hand down, like she had pulled a lever.

Electricity shot along the ribbons, conducting the magical charge like a wire, courtesy of Heine. It was only for a moment, but that did little to minimize the screaming and wiggling the worm did. Finally, the scream’s died down, and it opened its mouth again.

“Hehehe…oooh. When the rest find you, you’re as good as dead you bi-”

“BZZT, strike two!” Juliet commentated again. “Man, you suck at this game…” sighing disappointingly, as the worm began to scream and shake some more.

“Hey Irene, this one isn’t very good at following rules. Let me glue it’s face closed and find a new one!” Juliet asked, as if she were a child asking for a puppy.

“THEY'RE IN THE SUBTERRANEAN LEVELS, AT THE NORTH END, PLEASE DON’T-”

Heine then started shocking the inhuman thing until it was unconscious (probably, Irene couldn’t really care.) then Requipped her staff. She pointed said staff at the nearest wall and shot a beam of magic through to bore an impromptu exit for herself and her ‘team’. When she reached the edge of the tower, she simply picked all three of them up and levitated down to the beach that she had just blew through not five minutes ago. All the ships seemed to have made landfall without worry due to her actions, but the Rune Knights were having trouble exiting their crafts while fighting off what seemed to be an army of… ghosts?

This is going to be a long day…

* * *

Lahar’s current management of his Knight’s was something that looked like complete anarchy. But that wasn’t what he’d call it. He liked to refer to it as _controlled chaos._

“Squad D, cover the rightmost boats deployment!” He yelled quickly but clearly. A detachment of his forces leaving to divert the specters from one of the boats that made landfall so more allies could join the fight instead of being target practice for the rogue spells flying at them from every angle.

He was quick to notice that the specters appeared to automatically target the largest concentration of magic in front of it. This unfortunately meant the boats full of magic users were being swarmed en mass. If he didn’t come up with a new plan soon, they’d be routed before even setting foot on the tower proper. _This isn’t looking good, if only that_ witch _hadn’t-_

The beach was suddenly swathed with beams of light. Magical pillars from above flew down and decimated the swarming poltergeists in an instant.

“So glad to see my taxpayer’s dollars at work, truly…” a sarcastic voice said, descending from the heavens. Irene Belserion and two more women floated down from the sky like a Valkyries, with looks that demanded they be treated as such.

“I was working on it…” he couldn’t help but bite. “I would thank you again…” Lahar said before noticing more of the phantoms seeping out from the structure ahead. “… But it appears I would be getting ahead of myself.”

Irene looked lazily at the tower, before turning back to him. “They’re being spawned from the cultists themselves. They’re most likely using them to cover for the lack in real manpower.” She said, finally descending on to the sand itself before striding out toward the tower. “The prisoners are kept to the north in the underground area, I’ll go on ahead, you can mop up what’s left…” She tilted her head to the side just enough for him to see her lips twist into a teasing grin. “After all, that seems to be your area of expertise.” Before facing forward and launching spells at the approaching shadows without barely a gesture.

_Damn_. Lahar couldn’t help but stand there. _This lady is going to be the death of me._

\---

Luckily, Irene’s motley crew had touched base near the tunnels leading underground. The Cultist’s were either more undermanned than she initially believed, or had higher priorities than the prisoners, as there was little more than a couple dozen guards between her and the main holding cells. Her patience was starting to reach its end however, and so was her control, as by the time she reached the door separating the prisoners quarters from the rest of the tower, she was moving frantically, swerving her head around like a wild beast looking for prey.

“Lady Irene, might I suggest taking a moment to breathe?” Heine asked quietly, shrinking like a child in trouble when Irene’s glare turned onto her. But after a moment, Irene did stop and take a moment to collect herself, closing her eyes. _That’s right, I’m hear now. Erza is safe now. I must find her now._

When she opened her eyes, she took a moment to slowly look around the room she had just burst into. It was a massive underground structure. Outside of a few barred holes in the ceiling, there was next to no light. The giant opening was flat in the middle with plenty of people all around. Most were dirty with nothing but rags for clothes. There also appeared to be stairways that spiralled along the outside of the structure, with what looked to be makeshift cells dug in the ground all the way along, containing more prisoners. Everyone inside appeared to be on edge, most likely having heard the Magic Councils landing. Everyone was now staring at Irene, unsure whether her surprise appearance spelled hope or doom for them. Irene didn’t know what to do. People haven’t looked to her for guidance since, _Since back then…_

Before Irene could get lost her past again, an old man surrounded by children got up and started walking toward her. He looked like a small breeze would break him in half, and that he hadn’t eaten anything in months. Some of the children quickly got up and tried to help him along, and Irene decided to stop staring and meet the man halfway. Once they got closer, he studied Irene not like a curious senior, but a serious soldier. Finally, he spoke in a weak and gravely voice.

“You… are Erza’s mother, yes?”

Irene didn’t even have time to ask how he knew her daughter. Even the children helping him seemed surprised by the claim. “I see, then you must hurry. She tried to stand up for the other children, but they took her earlier to make an example of her, so the new ones wouldn’t get any ideas. Head up as far as you can, that’s where they took me…” He stopped talking and began coughing a fit, but she had heard enough.

“Juliet, Heine. Free and protect these people until Lahar’s band of buffoons get here. I’m going to find whoever took my daughter and flaw them alive.” She ordered, before blasting out the roof of the prison and into the sky. She flew up the tower, to the green orb housed atop a mass of crystals. She floated over to it, moving in front of one of the eye shaped symbols decorating its outer walls, and hefted her staff over her head.

*SMASH*

The wall appeared to be made from the same crystalline structure it was perched on, shattering into smaller shards where it wasn’t totally pulverized by her staff. She floated down into the room she had just trashed, finding a mass of panicked cultists running around in a madness.

“How have they gotten past our defenses so quickly?” “Are we even able to initiate the backup plan yet?!” “Why aren’t _they_ helping us? don’t tell me they turned tail already!”

**“Silence.”**

All the cultists frantic sputtering’s stopped, as they turned to look at the voice. A wave of pressure hit them, sheer magical energy radiating off Irene, almost drowning those around her. A couple dropped to the ground, her mere presence causing to collapse unmoving.

**“Where is my daughter.”**

A few more tumbled over. One tried to gather magic in their hand but found themselves suddenly blown through the wall behind them, leaving only three.

One knelt down, whether in subjugation or from exhaustion was unknown. He was the only one with the courage to speak through the fear. “T-through the hall on the left, in the center interrogation room.”

Irene finally gave the three cultists left some levity, if only so they could walk. “Take me there, _now_.” The remaining Dark Arts users quickly began walking toward the door, following her orders in order to not get crushed by her cruelty. _Good, now they know how it feels…_

“H-here it is.” The cultist beckoned forward, opening a door into a dim-lit room. This was it. Finally, she would be able to hold her daughter in her arms again. Or could tell her how she was right about learning magic. Or she could scold her for always getting into trouble for another’s sake. Or she could enter the room…

And find that her daughter was not there.

Next Chapter: Irene Finds A Brain


	3. Irene Finds A Brain

Subject E was trapped again, contained in devices that covered her limb’s, stopping the use of magic within her body. Not that she had shown said abilities yet, but the redhead certainly had the potential, and was plenty deadly without it. _I_ _still wonder how she got that knife while tied up…_

The old man with dark skin and white hair stood up on the observation room, looking down into the testing chamber with a curious look. He straightened out his lab coat, trying to ignore the cuts made by his newest subject’s struggle. Most notable was an entire patch missing near his upper left chest, part of the coats design clearly missing now. Straight for the heart, her ruthlessness impressed him. He tried tightening his belt, only to notice that the buckle was missing. He simply shrugged, noting the irony in underestimating one that he himself saw potential in. His eyes were then distracted by the reflection in the glass dividing the rooms, seeing many bodies moving back and forth between them.

Amoral assistants flowed around him, preparing various experiments to determine the extent of their new subject. Like him, they cared little for morality, if they could learn something new about magic. But they understood that in order to properly test magic a healthy mind and body were needed. He noticed that Subject E was still struggling and couldn’t help but chuckle. He still couldn’t believe that such potential would be wasted so carelessly.

He shook his head sadly. Those fools at the tower didn’t know a thing about proper recourse management. Dozens of children taken to be molded into the perfect tools, only for them to end up weak and damaged. He hoped to examine the children, take the half dozen or so with the most potential, and show those amateurs what a true servant was. But those incompetents were found before he could properly scout them out. Luckily, this kid had just as much potential as Subject U. Her strong will may make her a worthless slave. But for his use…

He looked down at Subject E. “I wonder, do you have what it takes…” His eyes met hers, and he couldn’t help but let out a greedy grin.

“…To become one of my Six Prayers?”

\---

Irene was quite livid. After finally believing that she had found her daughter, she had walked forward into an empty room. She quickly turned her fury behind her onto the three cultist that had taken her there. An arm snapped up around the closest one’s neck, lifting him up flailing his limbs in a panic.

“WHY ISN’T SHE HERE?!” She yelled, not noticing that her grip was preventing an articulate response. The man she was holding eventually stopped moving, and she dropped him before taking a step toward the remaining two members, who seemed too shocked to answer. Both launched back into the wall behind them, and one finally started speaking properly, hoping to avoid the same fate as his friend.

“She was here, there’s no way she escaped! _He_ must have taken her!” he said unhelpfully. Irene snapped her gaze to the talkative one. “He? Who took my daughter! I need a name, dammit!”

“Z-zero, his name was Zero! I think he was he was from Isvan!” The other of the duo said, happy to please their new tormentor in any way they could. Irene couldn’t help but feel annoyed. She didn’t have time to search another kingdom from corner to corner, especially one she knew little about.

She turned back toward the room and walked into it, trying to think of what to do next. Her eyes happened upon the floor, noticing specks of blood and white strands of hair lying there, as if someone had been cut. As she bent down to observe this oddity, she noticed else something had fell onto the floor. When she grabbed what she saw, she couldn’t help but feel it was important. It was piece of metal, the backside of a belt buckle. When she flipped it over, Irene found it was decorated with a symbol that she couldn’t recognize. It was red, with a large green triangle in the middle with a white outline. Said triangle had a hole in the center that was filled with the same white coloring as the outline. She didn’t know what it meant, but she knew just who to ask.

Irene walked out to the hole in the wall she had entered in before jumping out it and floating down, leaving the terrified cultists forgotten at the top of the tower. This wasn’t her problem anymore.

\---

As she fell down the tower for the second time today, she noticed the fog had begun to collapse. Also, the Rune Knights appeared to be escorting the newly released prisoners onto their vessels. _So those Knights in silly armor can get things done themselves after all._

After almost a minute straight of falling, Irene used her magic to slowly touch down on the beach. She figured squishing one of the Knights wouldn’t put Lahar in a good mood. Almost immediately upon landing, three children ran out from the group the Knights were escorting straight toward her, much at their behest not to. The first one was unknown to her with dark blue hair and an odd red marking down one eye. The second boy was also unknown to her, having maroon hair and carrying a… small purple snake with wings? But the other one ahead of him was a face she recognized.

“Where’s Erza, did you get her?” Simon asked desperately. Irene couldn’t help but feel bad, knowing the truth will break his heart, but she couldn’t lie to him. “No, it appears someone took her, again…” Before Simon could complain, Irene continued. “But don’t worry, I’ll track them down. You just focus on returning to Kagura. The two of us will find you again before you know it. Simon perked up at the mention of his sister, but the boy beside him just seemed to get sadder.

“It’s my fault they took Erza.” The boy’s eyes looked downtrodden, guilt eating him up. “come on Jellal, I told you it’s not-” The maroon headed boy tried to placate his friend, but it had little use. “But it is Erik, I tried making friends with her, and when I stood up for the new people, they tried to take me away. But she tried to fight them, and they took her instead and it’s all my-”

“Stop that.”

The boy was so shocked his tear-jerking confession had been interrupted so bluntly that he just looked up at Irene in confusion. “Erza wouldn’t see it as your fault. She saw you as a friend, and she is willing to fight for her friends regardless of consequences.” Simon simply nodded in agreement. “Erza got in trouble because she decided to protect you, her friend. It was her choice, even if I think that habit get’s her in too much trouble. Don’t belittle her feelings just because of your own.”

Irene’s words seemed to calm Jellal down, and Irene was about to walk the three of them back to the boat, when she noticed something purple on her staff. Erik seemed to notice as well. “Ah! Cubellios, don’t just jump off like that, you’ll hurt yourself!” Irene was about to throw the pest off her prized staff, but before she could she noticed the serpent was looking right at her. _This isn’t a normal snake, is it…_

Irene moved her hand up to it, and the snake slithered over her palm. She examined it, and found a strong form of magic upon it, a curse that maintained its form as something else. It’s like me. She immediately began to use her enchantment to separate the transformation magic from its host. Light began to appear as the snake began to grow, the creature flying off her hand onto the sand around Irene and the boys. A couple of Knights began to make their way over to check what the commotion was but found themselves blinded by a flash when the transformation unraveled itself completely. When the light died down, there was not a snake, but a little girl standing around them. She had short purple hair and was dressed in the same rags as the boys around her. “What…? Where am I, what happened?!” She looked around confused, poor thing’s memory must be jumbled. She stopped panicking when she saw Erik, looking into his eyes with recognition. “You, I remember you.”

“uh…” Erik was clearly out of his depth, clearly not used to having his pets transform into cute girls. Before he could make a fool of himself, Irene took pity on the boy. “Alright you four, time to get on the boat. Follow the nice Knights behind you.” She swung her staff down and started herding the children, who scrambled like sheep toward the waiting Knights.

When she finally boarded the vessel, she finally spotted the glasses she was looking for, the Captain. He was crouched down in front of a box near the wheel. She finally caught Lahars eyes, only for him to look back at something on the deck. _Did he just ignore me?!_

She couldn’t believe it and began to stomp toward the stern and up to the deck he was on. When she stood up beside him Irene noticed that him and another Knight were fiddling with the communication lacrima. Lahar spared another glance up at her, before turning back to the device and finally acknowledge her presence. “Well glad to see your back from your walk. Hope you didn’t break anything important while you were out.”

Irene could feel the sarcasm rolling off the words. She couldn’t seem to care. “How is everything down here?” Lahar sighed before finally standing up for a proper conversation.

“We’ve moved nearly all the prisoners from their cells onto the boats, and It seems almost all the resistance has been dealt with. We managed to find the device managing the fog, and now that it’s off we’re trying to contact the Council to send a clean-up crew for all of this.” He gestured at the tower, referring to it like an overgrown weed instead of the ancient device of Black Arts that it was. He stopped, looking seriously at Irene. “I heard your daughter was taken higher up; do you need a team to help search the place? I could spare a squad or two.”

It was Irene’s turn to explain the situation, detailing the events at the top of the tower and showing the belt buckle. Lahar stared at the symbol displayed on it intently. Once he had flipped it a full 180 so the triangle pointed down, his eyes widened in shock. “It can’t be!”

Irene knew that Lahar was good for something after all. “Well, what is it? Where is my daughter?” Lahar looked conflicted, before finally answering.

“It’s the symbol of the Bureau of Magical Development, located in the Land of Isvan. They aren’t under the Magic Councils jurisdiction but are officially recognized as an official magical institution by them. But they are mostly known for being the forefront in magical research. They wouldn’t kidnap children, right?” He seemed unsure himself, staring at the piece of metal in his hand like it would provide the prove he sought.

“If they took Erza, then I don’t care if they were the Council themselves. You seem to have this under control, so I’ll be taking my leave now” Irene turned toward the bow, ready to jump off and fly back to shore herself.

“Wait!” Lahar stopped. Irene glared at him impatiently, so Lahar began to say his piece before she disappeared. Again. “You can’t just walk into a place like that yourself. If you force your way in based on current evidence, you could cause a diplomatic incident. However…” He hesitated, but ultimately finished the thought. “As a recognized institution, the Magic Council sends an annual inspection. If I can get you in that way, you’ll have access to every inch of that place without worry.”

Irene couldn’t believe what she was hearing and couldn’t help but question the rule-abiding Captains sudden idea. “I thought you said they were perfectly legal. And would the Council be willing to commit such espionage? You seem rather busy here.”

“The Bureau has a medical wing, usually taking care of people with magic related illness. Many of the people they take in are from remote areas without any other option, and with how little is known about the field, it wouldn’t be hard to lie about reasons for a death or two.” Lahar said ominously. “As for the Council, I know someone on it who doesn’t mind bending the rule’s to get things. Once communication with land is established, I’ll try making a few calls.”

Seeing that her standing around wasn’t going to make the process any faster, Irene decided to walk down to the bottom of the steps leading to the bridge and sat down. She wasn’t tired by any means, but she needed to calm her nerves. She couldn’t lose control now, especially with her daughter still out there. Irene was so lost in herself she didn’t even notice the old man from before wandering over and sitting next to her.

“I’m sorry.”

Her eyes snapped over to the person now sitting next to her, taking in their body. The man was small, lacking anything but bones. His hair was unkempt and overgrown. Irene would frankly call it a miracle he was even alive. But despite looking like only being a day away from death, that isn’t what caught her eyes the most. That would be the large symbol stamped onto his back, shaped like a being with wings and a tail. Irene couldn’t make out what it represents, but the fact that the symbol remained so clear after all this time meant it must be magic. _What does it mean?_

“It wasn’t your fault…” She felt like she was saying that a lot lately. “I was able to find where they took her, I’ll get her back.”

“And then what?” He questioned. Irene raised an eyebrow. What was he getting at? “Magic is a path that one shouldn’t be traveled alone. If Erza wants to learn it, perhaps you should consider a magic guild?”

Irene looked at the symbol on her back again. “I don’t see the point of magic guilds.” They weren’t a thing back before her time as a dragon. “I can take care of Erza just fine by myself.”

“Just because you can doesn’t mean you should.” The man said sagely. Irene felt a little insulted, being lectured by someone like a child. She debated telling the ‘old’ man her real age just to mess with him but decided to not kill him with a heart attack. She just gave the man beside him an unimpressed look. The man got the hint, and simply raised his hands apologetically, before saying one last line. “Fairy Tail always welcomes family, no matter where they’re from. Most children here don’t have their old families to go back to. I do believe those boys you talked to will be following me home.” Irene was sure to take note of this, as Erza would probably insist on making sure her friends are safe as soon as she is.

“All right, we got through! Irene, get those two friends of yours up here. It’s time to make a plan.” Lahar informed Irene. Happy to get out of this impromptu intervention, she sat up to find wherever her walking weapons had gotten off to. Magic and ‘family’ don’t go well together. She had seen how that would play out four hundred years ago, she didn’t see a reason why things would change.

\---

Erza couldn’t move. Even though she was no longer bound by those strange contraptions, her limbs barely responded. They felt numb, like they had been pumped full of something, only to have it all drained out of her. She finally noticed that her captors had been kind enough to put her on a bed. _Captors?_ Why was she here again?

She tried opening her eyes but found herself blinded by a light above her. She heard the noise of clothes rustling next to her. She turned her head toward the sound and opened her eyes again. There were multiple men in white robes observing her. Their faces all masked with a cloth, an odd symbol adorning them.

“Where…” She tried to ask, but found she barely had the strength to talk, throat sore from overuse. Why was that? The robed man at the head of the party seemed to understand her question still. He bowed forward, like a messenger addressing a monarch, and spoke politely.

“Your mother rescued you from those dreadful cultists, but your magic had awoken in the process.” His head rose before continuing. “She saw your potential, and requested we increase your magical power.” What? Why would mother leave her here? This didn’t feel right? “No, she wouldn’t…”

But the masked man interrupted her as if she had been listening intently all along. “You will not be returned until you have reached your true potential, that is what your mother requested.” The group then turned away from her, and without another word began exiting the room.

_No!_ Her mother wouldn’t leave her alone. Erza could barely go to her friend’s house for an hour without getting dragged back home. These people must be mistaken... Right?

“Wait… Come back. You’re wrong! She-Ow!” She tried to follow them but could barely move. Her arm slipped on the edge of the bed and she went tumbling off into an undignified heap on the floor. She didn’t let that stop her, still try to drag herself to the door. “Simon, Jellal, Erik…” Are her friends fine? Are they stuck here as well? She needed to find them, make sure they were alright. Compared to that, the pain rolling through her body meant nothing to her.

\---

Brain was still standing in front of the window between the now empty testing and observation rooms. He was now using the window as a surface to manage his archive magic, analyzing the data gathered from today’s opening experiments. It was early to presume, but the results looked promising. Subject U may be able to handle more magical power currently, but she had been taking the procedure for years. On the other hand, Subject E had natural talent that seemed to outstrip even Subject U, something that surprised even him. He would have to investigate her parentage, to find the source of this power. If there are more children like this, it might be worth more direct action, for the sake of his research.

The ring of the team’s telepathy magic ringed into his head. He couldn’t help but growl in annoyance. They should know that this he didn’t wish to be interrupted. He dispelled the magical screens and put one hand up to his temple to answer the magical call. _This better be important…_

_‘What is it?’_ He growled, wondering what the effects of overloading his telepathy would do to the poor man on the other side.

_‘We’re sorry for interrupting sir, but we thought we should inform that there are people from the Magic Council here.’_

_‘…What are they here for?_ ’ He felt himself breaking into a cold sweat. He was sure he left before anyone saw him, but it he couldn’t help but doubt himself.

_‘Um… They say they’re part of an Inspection Unit.’_

Well…Shit.

Next Chapter: From Zero to Cero


	4. From Zero to Cero

Irene looked up at the monolithic structure she now stood in front of. It was shaped like giant crescent moon, inexplicably standing strong amongst the desert around it. There were several cables straddling the backside of it, but there was no way that they truly supported the structure. This thing was a feat that could only be accomplished with magic. As expected of the Bureau of Magical Development, the number one producer of new magics on Earthland. The astronomical inspirational was odd, but appropriate.

Because the people working here were almost certainly lunatics. Or at the very least working for one. She had no idea how deep the corruption went, or if this was even the right building. The place was warded with spells that blocked magical detection. It was standard practice for most places experimenting with magical energy, in order to not create a disturbance to the surrounding area. Or ensure no outside forces meddling during probably illegal experiments in this case.

She stood in front of the main door (at least she was pretty sure they were) with her two enchanted armaments Juliet and Heine, along with a very nervous Lahar. They were all dressed in the gaudy uniforms of the Rune Knights sans the caps, having changed on the way over. Lahar had even insisted she dispel her staff saying it didn’t fit ‘Council Aesthetics’, the bastard. It was evening now, as it took all day to be transported all the way across the country and then some. They had used a group of teleporters and gate warpers that the Council used for ‘emergencies’, after Lahar had made a few calls. Even then the length of the journey required Irene’s help to boost their transporters abilities. It was quite a feat of logistics, but they managed to make it before nightfall.

Lahar turned his head to Irene. “Remember, let me do the talking.”

“Alright.” Irene affirmed.

“And don’t _attack_ anyone until we have proof of their actions.” He continued.

“I’m not some dog…” She said insultingly

“And don’t go-” Before Lahar could continue his tirade, the doors to the facility opened. A small group of robed men, face covered, walked out and bowed slightly to greet them.

“Welcome, members of the Magic Council. I’m afraid we were unaware of any upcoming visit. For what purpose have you come to visit our illustrious institution?”

Lahar stepped forward, his face stoic and professional, hiding the pile of worry that had been upon it mere moments ago. “We are members of the Councils Inspection Division; we have come to ensure that this site is following all regulations and stipulations agreed upon by your organizations signing of the Official Magical Research act.”

The two groups stood there for a moment before the one who had greeted them began to speak. “I do believe we receive notice of such visits, and they aren’t usually here this early in the year…”

“We apologize, but the standards for inspection had been recently reorganized, and the Council had demanded that the Inspection Division immediately inspect all sites to ensure the data has been updated properly. We tried to send out a letter, but there might have been a complication, due to the short notice of the task. We apologize for the inconvenience.” Lahar improvised, poker face straight as ever. Irene hardly needed to worry about her own face, she just kept the same indifferent look she always had. Heine was imitating Lahars professionalism, and Juliet was too busy oohing and aahing at the whimsical architecture to even notice the group addressing them.

The employees of the Bureau were just as hard to read, with there face masked and movements stilled. After many more moments than should have been acceptable, one finally responded. “We see, we apologize for the confusion. Please follow us.”

* * *

After almost three hours of overturning the place they had found nothing in the medical wing but perfect records and convenient excuses.

“Here is the list of recent patient additions, though no one new has arrived since your last visit.”

“I’m afraid many of our patients’ conditions are quite precarious. Visiting might be harmful to their health.”

Irene was starting to get antsy. She wanted to just bust this place inside out, find Erza and get out of here, but nothing said she was here! Lahar was starting to shoot her looks, checking to make sure she hadn’t run off and caused an ‘accident’, like she was some problem child. Their eyes locked and both realized they had to step things up a notch. _It’s time for a Hail Mary._

“Excuse me, but could we talk with the Director of the facility for a moment?” Irene asked. If anyone was in on this, it was the head man himself.

“W-what?” Their guide seemed shocked by the sudden question.

“We would merely like to thank him for putting up with our sudden request. And to congratulate him on maintaining such a marvelous track record.” Lahar added, quickly catching on.

“…I suppose that could be arranged.” Their guide said tentatively. He then led them down the winding halls to a door labeled in big letters along the top ‘OBSERVATION ROOM’. “Through here please. Director Brain is waiting.”

The door opened into a well-lit room full of many different magical equipment, though they were all currently unmanned. In fact, the only other person in the room other than Irene’s newly entered group was a single man standing at the other end. He was looking out through a window that spanned the whole wall into another room. He turned when Irene approached to meet him.

“I heard you wish to speak to me?” He had a sort of noble look about him. His outfit was like the other members, but lacking the coat and face covering of the others, showing his tan skin and slicked back white hair. His tone was polite but indifferent, as if he expected little from this meeting. Irene found that thought annoying.

“We would just like to thank you for your acceptance of our sudden visit, we had meant to inform you, but I suppose you know how things can get lost in the chaos of work.” Lahar answered, before Irene could get any funny ideas. She simply continued walking up beside Brain to the glass and peered inside. She couldn’t quite tell what was being observed inside due to the dim lights. “What is this room used for?” She asked.

Brain turned to look at her, before moving around to face the room and waving a hand. The rest of the lights turned on, revealing a table with many wires laying across and hanging down above it. “This room is used by the medical wing for adding and removing magical energy from an individual. It is highly used for people with magical abundance or deficiencies.” Brain explained educationally.

“How is magical abundance a problem for someone?” Lahar asked, genuinely confused. Brain merely shook his head sadly before explaining. “It is a rare problem, only for those with extreme magical reserves. It is most common with children of powerful mages, who inherit their parents’ magical power, but have yet to comprehend how to release said power, bottling it up. Techniques like this are the only way to safely remove it until they gain the ability to control it themselves.”

“Are there any children taking such operations currently?” Irene pried for information, still looking out at the operating table.

“Not currently no.” He said simply. He turned his head to look at her. “Is there a problem?”

Lahar decided to follow up Irene’s play. “We couldn’t help but hear about someone needing to receive such a treatment recently, are you certain they haven’t just arrived and not been added to the patients list yet?”

Brain didn’t react to the statement but the feeling in the room seemed to change, like a switch had been flipped. Everyone, even Juliet was suddenly on edge. Irene couldn’t help but panic internally. _Shit, did we push him too much?_

Brain simply turned to face Irene and held out his right hand. “Thank you for coming out to inspect our facility. I hope we met all of the Magic Councils standards.”

Irene didn’t know what to do and started panicking slightly externally, hands shaking. Was this man not the one she was looking for? If Erza wasn’t here than what should she do? She looked at the hand being held out to her like it was from the devil itself. But then she looked past the hand and her hands stopped shaking. She then grinned, reaching her own hand into a pouch on her side before going to shake his hand.

“Almost sir. All but one I’m afraid…” When they shook hands, Brain seemed to notice that an object had been moved from her hand to his. He slowly brought his hand up and opened to inspect it. Inside there was a small rectangular piece of metal, with a very familiar symbol upon it. “…The dress code.” It was a belt buckle. He looked down at his own belt, only to notice that his own was missing. Brain took a moment to remember why. _It had fallen off when securing Subject E back at… Oh._

The two mages eyes met, and there was no hiding the recognition in Brains eyes. Irene immediately summoned her staff into her right hand, swinging it left into Brains side, crashing him through the observation window. In a swath of dark green fire, Brain suddenly changed look as he went flying, losing his regal uniform for a wilder outfit, with many trims and showing his partly bare chest. He now held a skull tipped staff in one of his hands, though it was much smaller than Irene’s. He landed deftly onto the observation room, before pointing his rod up at Irene. In the mouth of the skull was a lacrima that glowed, before flashing brightly at her.

She was blinded by the light, and when she could finally see again, the door to the testing chamber was open and Brain was nowhere to be seen. “God Damnit!” Irene couldn’t help but yell in frustration. She hadn’t come this far to lose finding Erza to such a cheap trick.

The door to the observation room opened behind them and employees of the Bureau entered, all wielding different magic and equipment. Lahar turned to face them. “Catch Brain, we’ll deal with theses people and find Erza!” He said, as Juliet and Heine stood to fight with him. Irene didn’t see time to come up with a better plan and jumped through the recently shattered window into the other room, before sprinting out the door. She couldn’t help but look forward to letting out her frustration on this poor man who crossed her. Like a dog chasing after a scent, she sprinted off in direction of her targets now unhidden dark magic.

* * *

There was a sudden noise, Erza suddenly jolted awake. She looked around her surroundings and found herself lying in the middle of her ‘room’, though cell would be a more appropriate term. She must have passed out trying to reach the door. Her body felt stiff, but found her legs moved as she wanted them to now. As she rose to her feat, she looked up through the skylight in her room and saw darkness and stars. It was currently night. _Perfect for my escape._

But as she walked toward the door, alarms began to wail, and an artificial sounding voice could be heard from the hall outside. “ _Intruder alert! All faculty members evacuate! I repeat, Intruder Alert!_ ” Her door opened all on its own, most likely as a safety measure. She then heard a noise that sounded suspiciously like an explosion, and the building suddenly shook. Erza’s weak body wasn’t ready for the movement, and she fell over.

“Ah, shit-” Erza immediately covered her mouth, and began looking around to make sure no one had heard her. A moment later she realized she had bigger problems than saying bad words and got up and ran out the door. She started running down the halls at random, trying to find a way down to a lower floor. She skidded to a halt as she heard voices coming toward her around the corner of the corridor.

“This way, we must move the Subjects before the Council finds them.”

“Start with Subject E, she is the most valuable one.”

Erza glanced around, before diving into a room to her left and pressing a button to the side of the doorway. The door suddenly slammed shut. A moment later, she heard many footsteps running past the room, before quieting down as they moved away. She sighed in relief, and was about to open the door, before she heard a voice behind her.

“Who are you?”

Erza swung around to look at the room she had hid in. It was almost identical to the one she had just escaped from, its cozy interior decorations distracting from the fact that it’s inhabitant couldn’t leave. On the bed at the back wall was a girl about her age with long black hair. She had her knees up to her chest and was looking at Erza with a confused expression.

Erza walked over and held her hand out to the girl. “I’m Erza. Don’t worry, I’ll get you out of here.”

Ultear looked happy momentarily, but then she started fidgeting. “But… My mom left me here. They said I needed to be stronger before I could see her again.”

Erza shook her head angrily. “That’s not true. They said the same about my mom, but there’s no way she’d leave me with these mean people. Would yours?”

The girl stopped her fussing, eyes going wide as she looked at Erza’s hand. “No.” She clasped Erza’s hand and pulled herself off her bed. She was wearing the same simple patients garb as Erza, but hers was incredibly more worn. Erza wanted to ask how long she had been here but decided to ask something more important instead. “What’s your name?”

“Ultear.” She said quietly. Erza grinned at her. “Alright Ultear, I promise to get you home, got it?”

Before they could continue their escape however, the door to the room flew open and nearly a half dozen Bureau employees filtered into the room around them.

“There you two are. We were worried when your room was empty, Subject E. But now we can simply move both of you at once.” One of them said, sounding like they had found their lost child. This worry was rather offset by the serrated blades that the employees were swinging at them like prodding sticks.

Erza couldn’t help but think back to the night at her village, and she threw her body in front of her new friend and held out her hands. She won’t let anyone take her friend again.

Right before she could be grabbed by one of the weapon wielding workers a voice bellowed out from the doorway. “HALT!” Everyone stopped, turning to look back to the door. Inside the doorframe stood a man in a uniform different than the other members of the Bureau. He had glasses and was wielding a tall red staff.

“Under the authority granted to me by the Magic Council, I place you all-” He then was suddenly interrupted by two familiar women wearing the same uniform.

“Die, you creeps!” “Hands off of our charge!” Juliet and Heine yelled, shooting ribbons and goo at all the robed men surrounding the girls. In moments, the Bureau employees were all incapacitated before they had a chance to recover from the baffling entry.

“Juliet! Heine! How did you find me, and what’s with the silly clothes?” Erza asked confused. Juliet turned back to the man with glasses. “See! I told you this uniform was ridiculous.”

The man with the glasses rolled his eyes behind them and ignored Juliet. He instead walked over to the two smaller girls and bent down onto one knee to address them. Erza was unsure about this unknown man, and not wanting to take any more chances with strange men in funny clothes, made sure she was standing between him and Ultear.

“You’re Erza Belserion, right? Your mother sent me to find you. Let me take you out of here.” Lahar said, ignoring the defensive stance she had taken. Erza peered up to Heine, who nodded in agreement to his statement.

“Alright, but you have to take Ultear with you as well.” She said slowly as she looked back to lahar.

“Ultear!? As in the daughter of Ur?” He said shocked, looking at the black-haired girl that was trying to hide behind Erza. Ultear slowly nodded her head.

“I’m sure this conversation would be very interesting, but we should probably leave before more minions show up.” Heine interrupted.

“Or Lady Irene blows it up!” Juliet added excitedly. Lahar suddenly shot up, remembering who he was working with, and frantically began ushering the girls towards the door. “haha, that’s right you two. Come on girls, let’s not keep the scary lady waiting…”

* * *

Irene was starting to get tired of this game of cat and mouse, running through hallways and flying up and down staircases. Brain clearly wasn’t interested in a confrontation with her, as every time she caught up with him, he shot a couple shots of blinding or overwhelming magic and disappearing around the nearest corner. She had started to get around this issue by enchanting the strength of her entire body and cutting through the building like a hot knife through butter.

She searched for her prey’s magical energy again and detected it almost directly above her, a few floors up. She gripped her wooden staff with both hands and swung it to her side, readying it like a claymore, and flew up. She burst through the plating overhead until he saw the familiar if tired look of Brain. Before he could react, Irene swung her staff out like a sword. The hit connected in its entirety, and Brain went flying through the walls so far he exited the building itself.

Before Irene could pat herself on the back for throwing out the trash, there was a spike in energy and two beams flowed forward like serpents toward her, eating whatever they touched. She flew forward between them out the hole she had just sent her quarry through, only to find someone entirely different. The man levitating before her had paler skin, and the sleeked back hair had become unkempt and waved wildly in the wind. His outfit had changed as well, the green suit ironically becoming far more official and military than the one before. His eyes were bloodshot red, and he had an unnaturally full grin.

“So, this is your true form, Zero.” Irene said disgusted.

“Yes, I’m afraid even my other self was afraid of me emerging. I must thank you; He was becoming dreadfully close to sealing me away for good.” He said gratefully, before holding his hands out to his sides, releasing two more streams of dark magic. Instead of releasing them, he swung his hands forward and began to use them as whips.

“Is that what you took my daughter for?!” Irene demanded angrily as she began to bob and weave between the two whips while trying to approach Zero.

“That’s right, he planned to use her body as living seal, to keep me contained. You should be thanking me!” He exclaimed back. “Those fools who had her before wanted to use her as nothing but a sacrifice to turn her into their god. My other self would have unlocked the powers you’ve made her keep locked away. Made her invincible.”

“That’s not your choice to make.” Irene said, before stopping. As the two streams of magic whipped towards her either side, she threw her staff as high up as she could. She then caught both with her bare hands.

“What!?” Zero’s excitement twisted into rage. Irene smirked before crushing the magic in her hands, pushing her own magic into them. The stream of the magic changed course, reversing back into its original users’ own hands. Zero tried to move away but was caught in the blowback of his own magic exploding in his face.

“Damn, I see where the girl gets her talent from.” He said in a mixture of annoyance and admiration. He looked around to find Irene had flown up above him to where she had thrown her staff, holding it above her in one hand, and calling upon enough magic that the night clouds above her began to darken and circle her.

“As fun as you seem to be finding this fight, I am getting rather tired of fighting you drivel. Just sit still and die.” Irene said annoyed, before swinging her staff down, and muttering the spells name. **_“Sema.”_**

Zero’s eyes widened in recognition of the name and began to gather all the power he could, even before a great object began to fall through the epicenter of the swirling clouds. It appeared to be nothing more than a large rock, but the magic used to call it down from the heavens had resulted in it flying toward him in a bright gold glow. He couldn’t help but feel a hint of fear. _To use the highest level of heavenly body magic in an instant, she can’t be human!_

Zero finished gathering all the power he could, and immediately threw his hands forward. **_“Genesis Zero!”_** Swarms of phantoms, hundreds at a time, spread out and up at their target. They reached their hands up, trying to swallow up the oncoming meteor. Slowly but surely the comets glow began to fade, encompassed by the spirits and slowly shrunk. Erased from this dimension into nothing but empty space.

Just when the oncoming projectile had been deleted from existence, something else flew down other than the magical meteor. All Zero saw was two wooden points shooting out like horns toward him before being caught between them and flying down to the ground at astounding speed.

* * *

Lahar had somehow managed to escort the two children out of the Bureau, despite their attempts to retrieve their subjects back. After finally getting to the ground floor and busting out the front doors, he reached inside his cloak and pulled out his communication lacrima. “All Squads, move in and arrest all members of the Bureau for gross violation of the Council Guidelines.” He made the call to the rest of his unit that had remained on standby to advance.

“Um, mister Lahar what’s that?” Ultear said, tugging on his robes. He saw she was pointing up and turned his head skyward just in time to see a giant meteor begin hurling toward the ground.

“Man, Lady Irene must _really_ want this guy dead.” Juliet giggled, while Heine shook her head disapprovingly. Whether due to her partners casual response to immanent destruction, or her Lady’s casual bringing of said destruction. The girls simply gripped at Lahars uniform in fear of the display.

But just as soon as the Meteor appeared, it disappeared. Suddenly swallowed by an army of sinister shadows, the size of the object began to slowly shrink until there was nothing left in the night sky but two small objects. One object crashed into the other, and then started getting larger. No, they weren’t getting larger, they were getting closer… _Oh Crap!_

While not as large as the previously apocalyptic display, the object crashed into the ground near them, shooting up a cloud of dust and shaking the earth. Lahar held his staff in front of him and projected a shield to try and protect him and the children from the shockwave and dust. The children held him tightly, trying not to fall over from the shaking of the earth beneath them.

After a few moments the dust began to settle, and they were all able to see what had violently landed nearby. Irene stood hunched over holding her staff at the bottom of a newly formed crater, and underneath her lied an unconscious body. He was speared around the chest by Irene’s staff prongs, which sat over a foot into the ground. Irene used Requip to put her staff away and stood up fully to look around at her handiwork.

“Mom!” Suddenly, Lahar felt the grip on one side of his uniform disappear, and Erza began running toward her mother. Irene clearly recognized the voice and turned in the direction of it. Her face changing to an emotion other than annoyance or anger for the first time since he had met her this morning. When Erza got within arms distance, she was picked up and held close, the two hugging greatly. Lahar looked away, feeling like he was intruding on a personal moment for the two.

“Erza, I’m so glad you’re ok! I don’t know what I would have done if I never saw you again…” Irene said, and she didn’t want to think about it anymore either, now that she had her daughter back.

“Mom, I’m so sorry! I got in so much trouble, just like you said I would. I just wanted to help my friends!” Erza said back sadly, eyes filled with tears. Irene shook her head.

“No, _you_ were right. There’s nothing wrong with protecting your friends Erza, and I think it’s time I taught you a way to do that properly now.” Irene said. She wanted to ensure that her daughter wouldn’t be defenseless ever again. That was far more important than her own feelings on the matter.

“Do you really mean that?!” She said excitedly, looking at her mother knowingly. Irene simply nodded and couldn’t help but grin as Erza forgot about her sadness and focused on the excitement of learning magic.

“Oh right! Almost forgot.” Erza suddenly said, wiggling out of her mother’s arms and ran over to where everyone else currently stood. Erza walked up beside Ultear, and she grabbed her hand with her own. “Hey Mom, this is my new friend Ultear. I promised to find her mom as well. Do you think you could help me do that?” She asked easily, little thought put into the extent of such a request. The girl beside her looked shocked by the sudden attention.

Irene just shook her head and sighed. She wasn’t surprised to see her daughters’ altruistic attitude hadn’t changed through the course of the traumatic day.

“Let’s talk about that tomorrow, ok dear?”

* * *

Near the tower laid a skull tipped staff, with a crystal ball held in its mouth and a feathered head. It sat there motionless until the joyous voices had long left the desert around it.

Suddenly, the staff flew up, standing with a will of his own. “HOLY CRAP! That crazy lady nearly stomped me to dust!” It yelled out, somehow producing a voice. It hastily began hopping away from the Bureau tower.

“I gotta get outa here before the fuzz find me!” It shrieked. “Now who’s gonna use me, dammit! Hmm, Brain seemed good friends with that eyepatched weirdo. I wonder if he has any use for fine piece of wood like me?” The staff pondered, hopping into the distant night sky.

Next Chapter: The Dragon Meets the Fairies


	5. The Dragon Meets the Fairies

Irene stood outside of the Magic Council’s Headquarters, watching the sunset rise from beyond the horizon. She couldn’t help but appreciate the rising sun, finally having emptied her mind of all the worry of the previous day. There was a feeling in the back of her head still however, like the coming on of a migraine. She supposed that she could use a rest herself, but she hadn’t gotten a chance to be by herself yet, due to being cooped up in this silly building. After admiring the view, she turned back to the imposing palace that housed the ruling bodies of magic and began to walk inside.

Around her many people and bipedal toads(?!) were running around with stacks of paperwork, occasionally shooting looks of annoyance at her. Most likely because she was the reason for the sudden influx of assignments to complete. Not that she cared, it wasn’t her problem…

Irene walked down to the medical wing where her daughter and her new friend had spent the night while the doctors went over the data gathered when they all arrived. They also insisted on giving _her_ an examination, but she quickly made it known that wasn’t happening. She only hoped the doctor wasn’t too traumatized to tell her what Erza and Ultears conditions are.

She walked up to the door to the head doctor and turned the knob. As she entered, the gentle face of said doctor turned to look at the new entrant, only to push back in his wheeled chair to the back of the room, his look of calm replaced with fear. “AHH! Stay back witch! I didn’t hurt her I swear, please don’t kill me!”

Irene gave the man an unimpressed look. She ignored the display of palpable panic and sat on the patient bed in the corner of the room. “How is my daughter, Doctor?” She asked. “Oh! O-of course Lady Irene, whatever you ask.” The doctor said, trying his best to please Irene like her life depended on it.

He suddenly scrambled for a clipboard on his desk and began frantically looking over it, pushing a hand up to his face to prevent his glasses from slipping off from the sweat pouring down his face. “Let’s see. Erza, Erza… Ah, here we go.” He nodded his head happily. “Everything seems fine here. Very little external damage, no scarring, etc. Internally is mostly fine too, but her magical energy is still sorting itself out.”

Irene raised an eyebrow. “Erza can’t use magic. She hasn’t learned how.” She said certainly. The doctor’s eyes widened, and immediately began trying to clear the confusion. “Yes, well it appears that vast amounts of magic have been ‘injected’ into her, most likely to try and expand her reserves. This appears to have activated her ability to hold magic, but she will need proper training to use it.” He said informatively, if a bit quickly. “For now, the magical power she can’t use will leak out naturally. It might cause some soreness, but it shouldn’t last for than a week or so.”

Irene looked deep in thought, before asking another question. “What about Ultear?” The head doctor flipped a page on his clip board, and began scanning the new form, before frowning. “Is there something wrong with her?” She asked worried. The doctor just sighed, before explaining the diagnosis they’ve gathered.

“She doesn’t have any lasting damage, but her body hasn’t rested in years, it seems. Her body is exhausted from repeated procedures of magic injection. Her ability to hold magic is unnaturally high, even considering her heritage, and her body seems to be having trouble releasing it all in a proper matter.” He looked up at Irene hopefully though. “However, other than that, her physical form is perfectly fine. The team found some old magic items that will help keep her magical power at a reasonable level until she works to increase her control.”

“Speaking of Ultear…” A voice said behind Irene. “We should probably discuss what you’re plans are going forward.” She turned toward the voice to see a familiar Rune Knight standing in the doorway to the doctor’s room.

“Lahar, glad to see you haven’t worked yourself to death yet.” The head doctor said cheerfully. Lahar simply gave Irene a glare before muttering quietly. “Not for lack of trying, it seems.” Irene returned the glare, before getting up off the bed and walking out the Head Doctors room, leaving said doctor flustered and alone.

“I tried looking into the location of Ur, but she mostly lives in the eastern countries, isolated.” Lahar said, as they walked down the hall.

“You couldn’t find anything else?” Irene complained.

“She’s been off the grid for years, for many reasons…” Lahar said, appearing guilty.

“What is that supposed to mean?” She inquired.

“I can take it from here, Lahar. I believe Head Captain Gran wanted to talk to you.” An old man in front of them said. He was quite short, and slightly hunched over. He had a black hat that seemed to hide his bald head. The man was dressed rather casually for someone who worked for as important a place as this. Lahar bowed respectfully to him however. “Thank you Councillor Yajima. I must debrief my superiors. Well Irene, it’s been hell. Try not to cause anymore work for us in the future. Good day.” He said politely, before walking back the way he had just come.

“Haha, you must forgive young Lahar. He is a rather new captain. Most don’t get to receive such lively work for their first operations.” The apparent Councillor said. “But enough of that. You deserve a proper thank you, not just from the Council, but from myself as well.” He said solemnly.

“I really don’t need-” Irene tried to explain, but Yajima continued before she could change the topic. “One of my old friends were on that dreadful island you freed. We were on the same team back during my guild days. When he went missing, we all assumed he had died. I was the one who asked him to investigate it. I thought his death would be on my hands, so thank you.”

Irene’s eyes widened. “You were a member of Fairy Tail?” She couldn’t help but ask. Yajima chuckled.

“I was on the same team as Makarov. Of course, after he became the Guild Master, we ended up disbanding. Most of them made their own guilds, but I decided to guide the younger generations another way.” He then gave a silly grin. “It also means I get to order that goofball around finally!”

As they talked in the hallway, a growing line of Council workers began to swerve around the two chatting mages, not wanting to interrupt their boss. Yajima finally noticed and rubbed the back of his head in embarrassment. “I know a good place to talk, why don’t we go there while we wait for the children to rise, eh?”

* * *

After a small (and slow) jaunt down the hall, Irene found herself in a small courtyard. It was little more than a fountain and some marble benches, but was empty at this hour, other than the odd employee cutting through for a shortcut. Yajima finally reached one of the benches and lifted himself up onto it. “Ah, much better. Please have a seat.”

Irene did as she was told and sat next to the man. “What exactly do you wish to talk about? You going to talk my ear off about joining a magic guild too?” She questioned, anticipating more ‘sagely advice’. Yajima shook his head. “No, but I did come to tell you about a magic guild.” He said before looking up at the brightening sky. “It’s about Ur.”

“Everyone here seems to know who she is yet know nothing about her at the same time. What’s with this woman?” Irene demanded. She was starting to regret not looking more into the current magical world. _Another thing to add to the to-do list, I suppose._

“Ur was an incredibly talented mage, and quickly recognized as a potential candidate for the Ten Wizard Saints.” He said.

The Wizard Saints. The ten strongest mages as recognized by the Magic Council. The few rumours she heard about them seemed almost inhuman. “The Master of Fairy Tail is one as well, correct?” she asked.

“Yes. But as I was saying, her talent was recognized, but she never joined. While that’s all most know of her, few know _why_ she didn’t join.” He said sadly.

“It was Ultear, wasn’t it?” Irene said knowingly. Yajima nodded.

“Yes. When we began to send her official invitations, she had already been born. Ur said that she wanted to spend the time with her daughter, and we backed of for a time. But when we were considering openings again, we tried finding her again, but…” Yajima suddenly grimaced. “We couldn’t find her, but we heard enough. Apparently, her daughter had gotten sick, so was sent to a ‘special institution’. Her child never came back, and one day, neither did she. Some wanted to find her, but that would just chase her farther away, so in the end, we left it as is.”

Irene hummed in understanding. She sounded just as focused on her daughter as she is. She would probably turn down such an offer too, if it would get in the way of time with her child. Irene couldn’t help but feel the pain Ur must have went through losing Ultear. No, still going through. She balled her fists.

“If you’re looking for her, try going down to Magnolia and visiting the Fairy Tail guild building. They should be able to get you on a boat to her last known location. I’m sure you can take it from there.” He said, aware of her sudden determination.

“Found you!” A sudden sound voice exclaimed. Irene looked in the direction of the sound just in time for her vision to be filled by a mass of red hair. “oof!” Irene had to quickly brace herself with her hands to prevent fulling off the bench in shock.

“Lady Erza. It isn’t proper to jump people like that.” Heine scolded at the entrance to the courtyard.

“Oh, come on Heiney, who would say no to a hug from a cutie like her.” Juliet said next to her.

Ultear stood between the two of them, looking afraid to speak up. She was wearing a simple dress, and had her hair cut up to over her shoulders now, most likely cut during her examination. Most notable were the metal bracelets with a jewel embedded in it, tightened on the end of each of her limbs. She was nervously picking at the ones on her wrist.

Irene picked Erza up and sat her on her knees, putting her arms around her daughter. “What are you doing?” Erza asked, leaning back and looking up at her mother.

“We were discussing how to get your new friend home.” Irene explained.

“What?! That’s great, right Ultear?” Erza said looking over at her friend.

“…Are you really going to help me?” Ultear looked like she didn’t believe what she was hearing and looked at Irene untrusting.

Irene nodded her head. “Yes. I’m sure your mother misses you, and I know how that feels.”

“And I promised, didn’t I. Nothing in the world will make me break a promise to a friend.” Erza added in.

Ultear stood there for a moment. Then her eyes began to water, and she did as her namesake implies. She ran up to Irene and proceeded to hug her. Irene’s hands were busy holding her daughter, and on collision with the second child, proceeded to fall back off the bench on her back. But she didn’t care to much about that, as she took one of her hands and hugged Ultear back with her daughter.

* * *

Irene’s party currently found themselves in a rather nice train carriage, moving along the tracks at a nice even pace. The hills and fields passed through the window to her left, a beautiful view that Erza and Ultear couldn’t help but stare out as they sat across from her, as they had for the past hour.

Irene was doing everything she could to _not_ look out the window, or feel the shake of the train car, or… _ahhhhh!_

Irene was annoyed to find that her motion sickness from before extended to trains as well. She _couldn’t wait_ to hop of this train straight onto another boat. She crossed her arms onto the table in front of her, and put her head down on them, closing her eyes. She could here the conversations of Juliet and Heine behind her, yapping on about the latest happenings of their novel’s current chapters. She could also hear a dozen other conversations in the car, but they slowly got drowned out by the growing sound of the train cars rattling against the rails- _Gah!_

Irene needed to find something to distract herself before she went mad. Irene peaked up from her moping and saw her daughter looking at her. “Mom? Are you ok?” Erza asked. Irene thought for a moment, before deciding to kill two birds with one stone. “Erza, how would you like a magic lesson.” She asked.

“Uh, now?” Erza asked surprised. Irene nodded her head, before holding out her hand. She called upon her magic and summoned a handkerchief from seemingly nowhere. She then tossed it over to Erza, who began to inspect the cloth. “What’s so special about it?” She asked confused.

Irene shook her head. “Its not the handkerchief, but the way I brought it out that’s important.” Erza looked questionably at her, but Ultear had a look of recognition. “That’s Requip magic, right?” She guessed.

Irene nodded. “That’s right. Requip allows you to store objects in your own personal dimension. Most mages learn to use this ability, but the amount that one can store depends on the person. It’s usually nothing more than support magic. Which makes it perfect as a beginners lesson.” Irene summoned another handkerchief into her own hand and gestured for Erza to follow her lead.

“Now, but the handkerchief in one hand, and focus on it. Understanding what you wish to store is the first step to Requip.” Irene began to lecture. Erza scrutinized the material in her hand, before nodding her head and looking back at her mother.

“Then you must draw the object into your personal dimension. Try to imagine moving the handkerchief into your self. Like putting it into your soul itself.” Irene drew her magic forward and dragged her handkerchief into her dimension with Requip. In a flash of light, her hand was now empty. “Now you try.”

Erza looked at her mothers’ empty hand, before looking back at her own. She began staring at the cloth, trying to stare it away for a moment, before giving up. “Try closing your eyes. Focus on gathering your magic from its source, then reaching out onto the handkerchief.” Erza closed her eyes, and she began breathing more steadily. Erza sat there for a while, before her brow narrowed slightly. The handkerchief in her hand began to wave and slowly glow, until it was completely enveloped in light. Then, it vanished.

One of Erza’s eyes peeked open and glanced at her now empty hand. When she saw the missing material, her eyes shot open and looked at Irene, who simply nodded in affirmation. Erza began to grin before jumping out of her seat and running up and down the cart. “I did it, I did it, I did it, I-what?”

Irene grabbed her daughters’ hand as she went by. “I’m very proud of you dear, but please don’t disturb the rest of the passengers.” Erza looked around to see a few passengers looking at her, either in annoyance, amusement, or just curiosity. She quickly got flustered remembering where she was and shuffled back next to Ultear.

“Wow, that was pretty cool!” Juliet said, looking over her seat into Irene’s own section. Heine popped her head up next to her sister. “Most impressive. great work, Lady Erza.”

“Wow… I can use magic now!” Erza said, finally taking it in. Irene shook her head. “Maybe, but you still haven’t learned Requip magic entirely yet.” She said.

“What else is there to learn?” Erza asked, tilting her head.

“Umm…” Ultear began to speak, Erza’s head continued tilting till it faced the girl next to her. “I believe she means summoning it back. Right?” Irene nodded again. “That’s right Ultear.”

Erza looked at her friend in awe. “Wow, Ultear! You know so much about this stuff. Your mom must have taught you a lot.” She said impressed.

“Actually…” Ultear looked away ashamed. “My mom didn’t really teach me magic; I never really had an interest in it. But when I was in that place, the only thing to do in my room was read books. They had a bunch of magic books, and they were kind of boring at first, but I eventually got really into them. Sorta had to, if I didn’t want to go crazy from boredom.” She added embarrassed.

Everyone was awkwardly silent after Ultears little confession, so Irene decided to continue with her lesson to get the kids minds of such morbid things. “Using Requip to call things out of your dimension isn’t much different from the other way around. Just reach for the handkerchief within yourself, then pull it out with your magic.” She lectured.

Erza held her hand out and closed her eyes, moderating her breathing again like last time. Slowly she began to focus, and Irene could feel Erza draw out her magic. There was a small glow in the palm of her daughters’ hand, and it slowly grew into a light that formed a shape, before a small flash happened like when Erza made the handkerchief disappear. All of Irene’s little group investigated Erza’s hand after the light disappeared, and found Erza was now holding holding…

A very fancy and very _pointy_ dagger!

“AH!” Erza immediately panicked, throwing the dagger down onto the table. Irene quickly grabbed the weapon before anyone could hurt themselves and put it away with her own Requip magic. Erza, Ultear, and Irene all looked at each other before Erza spoke up. “Should I… try again?”

* * *

Irene spent the last hour of the train ride trying to get her daughter to summon the handkerchief she had stored with her Requip magic. It was proved to be a rather challenging task. Not because she couldn’t use her magic, but because she had used it too much.

Thinking back, Erza always had a habit of losing things back during life in Rosemary. She would always lose something, whether it be flowers, a blanket, stuffed animals… and knifes apparently. Irene always told her that if she didn’t want to lose something, to hold it as close to her heart as she could. She had meant it in a ‘it’ll never be gone as long as long as you remember it’ way. But apparently, she had literally been using her magic to hold onto things she didn’t want to lose.

She had pulled out so much stuff that Irene had started to use her own Requip in order to not flood their carriage with random junk Erza had picked up. Some of the objects went back as far as months after she had been born. But to be able to store so much, and subconsciously at the same time, spoke of her daughters’ talent. Most mages would become exhausted putting so much energy into storing such an array of objects. But she had done it without even knowing. Irene couldn’t help but be excited at seeing what else her daughter could do.

The group was now walking from the train station on one side of Magnolia to the other. They walked across the bridges and canals of the prosperous city until they reached a rather impressive structure on the seaward side. It was a guild hall, the home of Fairy Tail, and ticket to their boat ride east.

Irene stood in front of the great wooden doors and couldn’t help but sigh. She could sense all the different kinds of magic even from here and felt frozen. Despite being expected, she couldn’t help but feel entering was wrong, like she didn’t belong.

“Come on Mom, I want to see my friends!” Erza said, trying to push the doors herself, but failing to even make them budge. That’s right, Simon and Kagura lived here now. Along with some other kids Erza met at that god-forsaken tower. Irene steeled herself for her daughters’ sake and pushed the tall double doors open.

It was well into the afternoon when they had entered the building. As she walked in, Irene noticed that the hall looked more like a rowdy frat house than a professional building of operation and was designed far more like one as well. There was a large quest board on the back wall, but there were few people looking at it, and more seemed to be at the bar beside it. There were an assorted set of tables across the first floor, all holding people with the same symbol of a fairy on their body in various forms of drunkenness.

“Hey Erza, you’re finally here!” Simon shouted, as he came running over from a table in the corner. The table was filled with a mix of (thankfully sober) children that Irene did and didn’t recognize. “Simon! You really are ok! Thank goodness.” Erza said, before giving Simon a hug, happy to see her friend in one piece. Simon stiffened, unsure how to react. His face reddening like a balloon. _Ahh…_

“Aw… Isn’t that cute Irene.” Juliet said, giving Simon a sly look. Irene tried to not think about it. _It’s just a silly crush, you don’t need to take him out back and threaten to burn him alive or anything._

“Hey Mom, can I go see my friends?” Erza asked, looking over at the table with all the friends she has every made.

“All right. But take Ultear with you. I’m going to have a talk with the Guild master.” Irene informed her daughter. She shot a look behind her that told Juliet and Heine to follow them. She didn’t trust this group of drunkards not to cause trouble.

“You can probably find Master Makarov at the bar. It’s where he usually is.” Simon said, rolling his eyes. Everyone else then started walking over to the table they had claimed.

Irene then began walking over to the bar across the hall. She kept her head forward, as she was sure she would cause an ‘accident’ if she locked eyes with one of the many male members watching her. When she got to the bar, she saw what everyone was crowding around it for. On one the center stools sat a familiar face.

Rob was sitting there, with a mass of empty plates and mugs scattered across the bar counter. He was looking a lot better, having clearly fattened up quickly. All the other people sitting at the bar had just as many empty mugs and seemed to be having a grand old time for a while now. Noticeably however, other than Rob and the unconscious dwarf-like man beside him, none of them had Fairy Tail guild marks on them.

One was a man of average height and clothes, sans for the spiked color around his neck and the base of his pointed hat. He had a guild mark shaped like the number ‘4’ on his upper left arm, that could only be seen due to the sleeves being rolled up.

The person next to him was rather round and bald. They were wearing a dress and appeared to have wings that were moving slightly as they flexed, as if they were real. There was a guild mark of what Irene believed to be a unicorn on their upper right arm.

Finally, there was a woman sitting at the far end, next to the unconscious one. Most of her appearance was covered by a dark red cape, but she had pink hair that had been curled up into a bun. Her clothes obscured any potential guild mark. She had clearly drunk the least of their little group and was giving Rob an annoyed look. She noticed Irene’s approach, and elbowed the sleeping form beside her. “Wake up, useless drunk. You have a visitor.”

The man beside her suddenly shot up. “I wasn’t asleep Porlyusica! Just… conserving energy for my next drink!” He boasted, and everyone around him through up their mugs. “YEAH!” A cheer was thrown out by the others at the bar. He turned in his chair, and Irene saw finally who she was dealing with. He was wearing an orange and blue strapped jester hat, and a white shirt with the Fairy Tail Mark on its center, with an orange coat over it. He looked up at Irene from his seat, before straightening up. The other bar seats turned to look at the new arrival.

“Ah, you finally arrived. I was wondering if I would get the chance to properly thank you.” Rob said cheerfully. Everyone else immediately realized who Irene was.

“Please, people have been thanking me for a while now. I don’t need any more.” Irene said. “I here you had something you could help me with?”

The short man held out his hand. “Ah, yes. I’m Makarov Dreyar, Third Guild Master.” He introduced himself. Irene shook his hand.

Those without the guild mark got up and began to leave. “Well, good to see you alright Rob. Try not to do anything stupid again ya hear?” The man with the ‘4’ guild mark said.

“And try not to drink so much. I let it slide today, but keep that up and you’ll wish you never came back, got it?” Porlyusica added threateningly.

“Yes, yes. Let’s do this again soon, OK?” Rob said, seemingly uncaring of the threat. Porlyusica just sighed and continued leaving as the rest just laughed. After they had left, Irene sat next to Makarov where Porlyusica had been. “So?” Irene said expectedly.

“Straight to the point? You really care about that child, eh?” Makarov said, smiling gently.

Irene just looked away. “I just know how her mother must be feeling.” She said.

Makarov put a map on the bar, with two X’s on it. There was a red X over a village on the east side of the map. “That red X is probably the most likely spot of Ur, and if not, she wouldn’t be far.” There was a blue X in the middle of the map, between the city marked as Magnolia and the other red X. “That blue X is a little thing that I was hoping you could help us with…” Makarov said embarrassed.

“And what ‘little thing’ might that be?” Irene asked. She was expecting this will become a very big thing. Makarov and Rob both sighed.

“We recently received a letter that one of our more _infamous_ members has been… detained.” Makarov said tentatively.

“Are… are you asking me to break him out of prison?” Irene asked disbelievingly.

“What!? No! no no no, I’m sure its just a misunderstanding. But just to be sure, we would like you to go check on him, just to make sure everything is fine, and ask him to maybe cause a little less trouble.” Makarov clarified. “There is a Council building in the town with the blue X, show them this letter,” He reached into his coat and handed said letter to Irene. “And they should get him out without issue. Shouldn’t take more than a couple hours. If you want, you could even request he come with you. He’s well known for being a flirt, so it wouldn’t be that hard.”

“…Right.” Irene said unimpressed. “Well, I probably would never find Ur without your help. I suppose I could return the favor.”

Makarov shook his head. “You need to stop looking at everything in payments and favors. It’s just friends helping each other out.” Irene looked at him confused. Makarov just laughed. “You saved a member of my family. That makes you a friend of Fairy Tail, whether you’re a member or not.” He said cheerfully. “Now come on, have a drink before you go, on the house!”

Irene looked over her shoulder to where Erza was. She could see her showing of her new magic, making various utensils appear and disappear. The rest of the kids were all showing of their own tricks, and even Ultear seemed to be coming out of her shell. Irene turned back to the bar.

_Well, I suppose there’s no rush._

* * *

In the middle of the night, a black hair child slowly opened the door to the small cabin he had inhabited for some time now. He carefully closed the door after exiting and trekked out into the snow. He didn’t want to leave his teacher, and knew she would disagree, but he couldn’t help himself. If the rumour he heard in town about _it_ was true, then he might not get another chance. The training that he has done here has made him stronger. Strong enough to avenge his parents, his home, and the homes of everyone else destroyed by that cursed demon.

Gray stared through the blizzard in front of him with a blinding fury. “I will destroy you, Deliora!”

Next Chapter: A Demon in the Snow


	6. A Demon in the Snow

“Run away! Demon!”

“You monsters shouldn’t be here!”

“Go back to wilds. You’re as bad as Deliora!”

Mirajane made a mistake coming here. She thought leaving Fiore and heading east would prevent these issues, that others would be more tolerant of her family’s plight. But it seemed worse here than back home. It was freezing here, snow falling from the sky, and not even an hour off their boat and she had been cornered with her younger siblings Lisanna and Elfman around the town center. The mob hadn’t harmed them physically yet, but she could see various objects in their hands, and the tension was growing at an alarming rate. She needed to get her siblings out of town, _now_.

“We’re sorry. We’ll leave, if you can just let us through…” She tried to appease the crowd, but only seemed to make things worse.

“You think you can just leave like you’ve done nothing wrong?!”

“Yeah! You’ve probably cursed this town! You’ll just tell that demon where we are if you leave!”

“Don’t let her go anywhere!”

The crowd began to encroach more on her, riled up even more. Mira could see some people raising their hands up in order to throw who knows what at her. All she could do was turn around and try to hide her siblings behind her as much as she could. She closed her eyes and braced for impact, but nothing came. She peeked her eyes open only to see rocks and bottles floating around her, as if caught in an invisible net. Mira was worried she had done something, but she heard wood stomp against brick, and all the frozen projectiles dropped to the ground harmlessly.

Everyone gathered turned toward the sound and seemed to be watching the figure warily. Mira couldn’t see from her position, but the crowd seemed to be parting for someone with a large witch’s hat and wooden staff that jutted up over the mob. Finally, the crowd parted completely to reveal a woman with great scarlet hair. She was dressed rather lightly for the weather, as her furred trimmed coat left her midriff and shoulder’s uncovered. Her boots went up to her thighs, but they hardly seemed thick enough to keep out the cold, and the rest of her legs were only covered by a skirt that matched her coat in design _and_ lack of real covering. Despite all that this woman stood there unfazed, looking at Mira.

Mira realized that her right arm had been uncovered, its claws and bulbous protrusions along its red skin. She tried to hide it, but the woman had obviously seen enough. Her face sharpened in a face of rage.

“Disgusting…”

Mira lowered her head in shame.

“You would dare raise your hands against children like this!”

She shot her head up, only to see that the woman’s gaze had been turned to the crowd. _What…?_

* * *

Irene really shouldn’t be surprised anymore, but she couldn’t help it. She was not expecting the first thing she saw after disembarking (and changing for the weather) was a damn lynch mob, but imagine her surprise when Erza pointed out the growing crowd in the center of town, full of rambunctious noises and hands making wild gestures or wielding threatening items. “They seem to be having fun.” Erza said.

But Irene knew better. She told Juliet and Heine to watch the kids and wait at a safe distance and took off toward the mob. She could hear the voices from here, and she was pretty sure there wasn’t a demon in the center of this storm, as they would probably be running in fear instead swarming it for a beating.

She saw a few objects fly, and she immediately caught them with her magic in the wave of a hand. The growing frenzy stopped as she tapped her staff on the floor, gathering attention. With her control, she began walking toward the source of this panic. When she finally got to the center, Irene’s fears were confirmed.

There sat three shivering children, hair all white like the snow, and under-dressed for the winter weather of the east. There were two younger children, a boy and a girl. They were both being guarded by an older kid, about Erza’s age by the look. Most notable however, was the large cloak she wore. It had ridden up when she went to shield her siblings and revealed the cause of this panic. Her right arm had formed into some grotesque limb, unnatural formations on it that could only be caused by magic.

“Disgusting…” Irene couldn’t help but think back four hundred years, back in her home.

_“Die, you dragon lover! You’ll burn like your friends did to us!”_

_“You’re not human! Stop looking like us, monster!”_

_“The child of a monster is no child of mine!”_

Irene tuned to the crowd, trying to hold back her urge to smash them all in a rage. “You would dare raise your hands against children like this!”

“That thing isn’t a kid, it’s a demon!” A voice rang up from the crowd. Many more roared in agreement. “Yeah!” That’s right!”

“She might be Deliora in disguise!” Another exclaimed. People began to get antsy, murmuring about the afraid adolescents behind her.

“Enough!” Irene demanded, slamming her staff so hard it broke the path underneath it and got stuck. She just continued talking, having silenced the crowd again. “This child is no more a monster than anyone else here. Less so if you ask me.” The crowd seemed surprised by the sudden slight. “If you’ve seen this girl, then you should know that she’s faced more demons than you could possibly know.” She accused. “If you want this place free of ‘monsters’, then all you have to do is walk away.” She declared decisively.

The crowd whispered and yelled, but slowly individuals began leaving the crowd. Eventually entire groups split off and began wandering off, the energy from before verbally beaten out of them. As the last of the mob finally dispersed with a pointed look, Erza ran over to her, followed by the rest of her party. “What was that all about?” She asked, having been kept to far away to here the shouts clearly. Before Irene could answer, Erza glanced behind her to the three on the ground and ran past her.

“What are doing out here dressed like that? Let me help you up.” Erza said to the older of the girls, reaching out her gloved hand. The girl reached up with her demonic hand without thinking, and before either one had noticed, Erza pulled her up.

“Hm?” Erza hummed confused, before looking at the face of the one she had picked up, and noticing that the hood had blown back, revealing a small lone horn on her right side. She quickly removed her hand from Erza’s grip and threw up her hood.

“Is something wrong?” Erza declared, as if what she had seen was totally normal.

“W-What?!” The girl exclaimed. “Didn’t you see my arm?”

“Arm? Is it hurt? Did I hurt you?!” Erza said worried, missing the point entirely.

“No, its inhuman! Didn’t you see my horn? I’m hideous!” She said incredulously.

Erza tilted her head before replying. “Hideous? I thought the horn made you look cute.”

The hooded girl stood frozen, face flushing from more than just the cold, while Ultear gave Erza an annoyed look for some reason. Irene just put her palm to her face, interjecting before her daughter could do anything else foolish. “Let’s go somewhere warmer perhaps.”

* * *

Irene eventually walked the children to a diner near the edge of town and found a seat in the corner. Despite the workers not seeming to care the same as the previous crowd had, it was best that they didn’t draw too much attention. She had Juliet and Heine sitting at a table near the entrance, just in case.

The three white haired children sat across from her, with Erza and Ultear at either side. They were wearing warmer clothes now, mostly spares for Erza that she insisted they have. The older girl sat between her younger siblings and was fidgeting greatly, eyes flickering to the window beside her every other second, as if the mob from before might appear at any moment. Eventually the younger girl raised her hands up and slapped them on the table, causing everyone to jump. “I’m Lisanna!” She said.

The boy on the other end decided to follow her lead. “I’m Elfman. I’m their brother…” He said looking at the older sister in the middle. She just kept looking out the window. Lisanna elbowed her, which snapped her out enough to finish their greetings. “I’m Mirajane, you, uh… can just call me Mira.” She said looking at Erza before glancing out the window again.

Irene introduced her side of the group but decided to leave their reason for visiting vague. “We’re here to help look for someone.” Is all she said on the matter. Erza gave her a confused look at the abridged story but decided not to add to it.

“We came here to get away from all the people picking on our big sis. But everyone here is a bunch of jerks too!” Lisanna exclaimed.

“Lisanna, don’t call people jerks.” Mira scolded her sister.

“They kind of were Mira. I mean they were scared, but to take it out on you wasn’t nice.” Elfman said sadly.

“What happened?” Erza asked. Mira looked sad, but after a moment decided to answer her question.

“We lived in a small village in Fiore by ourselves, our parents died when we were young. Everything was fine until about a month ago. Then one day, a demon showed up. It wasn’t that big or strong, compared to the stories we’ve heard, but for a village with no mages, we were doomed.” Mira gripped her demonic arm, and her younger siblings looked away sadly. “It took over a church, and almost killed my siblings. I just got so mad and grabbed onto it and wouldn’t let go. Next thing I know, I’m like this.”

Irene nodded. “Let me guess, they treated you like a demon and ran you out of town.” Mira nodded. “You’re lucky you were kids, or they wouldn’t have left you leave.” She said darkly. She noticed Erza giving her another funny look.

“That’s why we tried to get as far away as we could. We even stowed away on a boat to get out of Fiore.” Mira sighed. “But it seems that demons are an even bigger problem here. Everyone keeps talking about this ‘Deliora’. What even is it?”

“It’s a demon, obviously.” An unknown voice said. Everyone turned to look at the head of the booth to find a young lady standing there in waitress wear. “Sorry, I was here to take your order, but I can come back later…”

“No, it’s fine. Why is Deliora such a big deal?” Irene asked.

“I’m kinda surprised you haven’t heard about it. It’s this monster that’s like 10 stories tall, and wanders around the kingdoms, destroying anyone it runs into. Since it moves around so much, and wanders through smaller kingdoms, no one has ever been able to deal with it.” The waitress said ominously, before lifting her hands up and putting a pen to some paper. “Anyway, what do y’all want to eat this fine morning?”

* * *

After everyone had their meals (and Irene finally talking Mira into letting her pay for it) she only had one question. “What are you going to do now?”

“I don’t know. I thought if we went somewhere else, we’d be able to live in peace. But I don’t think my siblings will ever be happy with me around anymore…” Mira said, looking down at her clawed hand.

“No!” Lisanna shouted, launching herself into her sister’s arms. “How can I be happy if you’re not around!”

“Yeah!” Elfman agreed. “We may not know what to do, but we’ll do it together, right?”

“I know!” Erza said. “Why don’t you join Fairy Tail.”

The three siblings just looked at her confused. “What?”

“Fairy Tail is a Magic Guild.” Irene helped, seeing what her daughter was thinking. “Your issue is probably a case of Take Over magic. You just need to learn control of it.”

“And they’ll take anyone.” Erza said excitedly. “My friends lost their family too, but Fairy Tail took them in and taught them magic.”

“… You know how to turn me back to normal?!” Mira asked. Irene had a feeling she knew where this conversation was going. “Probably yes, but I’m sure the people at Fairy Tail-”

“Please teach me how!” She said bowing her head down. “I’m sure that Fairy Tail would take me in, but I _need_ someone to help me. Please?”

Irene didn’t want to. She was already helping another child, along with whatever that errand was for Fairy Tail. She wanted to say no. But she looked to her right and saw Erza giving her _the look_. Irene was getting ready for a full-blown argument with her daughter, when a voice from her left spoke up.

“I don’t mind.”

Irene looked over at Ultear, and saw she was looking at her too. Realizing that she was outnumbered, Irene decided to give up before she began. “Fine.” She said. Before anyone could say anything, she added on. “But… I will only take you. I have other jobs to do and can’t add babysitting to the list. Juliet and Heine will take your siblings back to Fairy Tail if you want, whether you go with them is up to you.”

Mira looked conflicted but turned to her siblings after a moment and began discussing their options.

* * *

Mira stood back at the docks, waving to her siblings as they left on a boat back to Magnolia. Juliet and Heine stood with them, ensuring that the small children could make the trip safely. Eventually the boat faded from view, and Mira turned back to her new teacher.

Irene stood there making note of her charges new apparel, wearing much more appropriate clothing. She had a heavy coat, with a large hood that easily covered her horned head. Its sleeves were large, making plenty of room for her larger, more devilish arm. The hand of said arm was covered by an oversized mitt. Juliet had apparently picked them out while they were dining, seemingly expecting such a thing to happen. Overall, she looked like a normal girl, if rather overdressed for the weather.

“You ready to go?” Irene asked.

Mira breathed deeply, before looking Irene in the eyes. “Yes, I don’t want to waste any time.”

* * *

Irene’s group traveled quickly to the first stop on their map and found themselves at a well-built walled town. They asked around and found themselves finally in front of an office baring the crest of the Magic Council. Irene walked in and told the children following her to wait at the seats to the side of the lobby area. She walked up the receptionist, who was looking oddly at the children you have swarmed her office.

“I’m here as a representative of Fairy Tail. I’m here to… _check in_ on a member at one of your facilities.” Irene said, giving the letter she received from Makarov over.

The receptionist gave an annoyed look at the mention of her visit and made a call at her desk. A few moments later a door behind her opened and a man walked through. He was wearing a white baggy bodysuit, with black hollow squares up the zipper line in the middle. The suit had a black turtleneck, as well as a cloth face mask that hung down over his nose, with the same square symbol as before on it.

“Please come with me. It will take a while to reach the facility.” The man said. Irene called the children to her, and the group went to the roof. Waiting there was a carriage sized cube, with a door and a viewing window on one side. They all got on and took seats around the sides, and the cube rose from the roof and began flying away. Irene immediately began to feel funny. _Not this again…_

“How long will this take?” Irene asked worried. “About an hour.” The pilot stated blankly. She paled.

Irene needed a distraction and decided to do the same thing she did last time this situation arrived, give a magic lesson.

“Mira, now would be a good time to teach you to control your Take Over magic, don’t you agree?” She turned to Mira and tried to keep a straight face.

“Now?” Mira said surprised. She looked over to the pilot and other Council employee in the front, and seeing they were ignoring them, turned back to Irene and sat up straight. “…Alright. What first.”

“First, you should know _what_ Take Over magic is. It allows the user to, rather self explanatorily, take over another’s power. The user can then use parts of that power to enhance themselves. Sometimes its only a limb or two, but others involve entire transformations of the body.” Irene began to explain.

“So, what happened with me? Why do I look like this? Is… Is the demon taking me over?!” Mira said, growing panicked.

“That’s not what happened.” Irene reassured. “You merely haven’t gained full control of your powers. In order to protect your siblings, you likely tried to ‘be as strong as the demon’ and took its power for yourself to defend them.” She continued. “It’s proof that you are a good person, and don’t let anyone tell you else wise, got it.”

Mira looked down at her arm and nodded, but still looked unsure. “But I’m still like this. How do I go back to normal?”

“You need to first separate what is you, and what is borrowed power. Without proper understanding and control of your new magic, it appears to be operating at a subconscious level. When ever you believe yourself to be a demon, your magic keeps the transformation going. Getting attacked by ever town you visit probably wasn’t helping either. You used the magic to protect your siblings, so there’s no way you’d go back if they were always in danger.” Irene explained.

Mira sat there for a moment, taking everything said to her in. “I’m using my magic without knowing? Is that possible?”

Erza nodded. “Yep, I used my magic to store things all the time without realizing it but know that my Mom taught me I have perfect control.” She held out her hand and used Requip magic to pull out… the menu from the Diner they visited when they met. “When did I pick this up?” She said staring at the menu intently.

Irene shook her head. “As you can see, it’s easy to use your magic without even realizing it. Magic is said by some to be the embodiment of spirit, so strengthening your sense of self is the first step I believe you need to do.” Mira looked confused, so Irene elaborated. “Try closing your eyes and focusing on nothing but yourself. Center on finding what’s most important to you, and what you can do to protect that. That should be good for the rest of the trip.”

Mira nodded. She pulled up her legs onto her seat and sat cross-legged, set her arms down on them, and closed her eyes. As she steadied her breathing Irene realized that she had just finished her lesson in less than five minutes. _Whoops…_

* * *

Meanwhile, at their destination, a scruffy middle-aged man sat in near darkness. He was in a cube that was barely his length in height in any direction. The ambient light from his magical prison helped hide his unshaven face and frayed hair, both an orange colour. He was covered in the same black cloak that he had been wearing when he arrived. For such an advanced prison, he thought they’d take inmates clothing more seriously. Though he supposed no one could see him in here, which is why he lied undignified on his back, looking up at the ceiling.

He was beginning to think that woman had been messing with him. She had insisted that there was some big bad plot involving this place, and the only way to save this place was to be there when it happened. It hadn’t been easy, getting locked up in the best prison the Magic Council had. Makarov was probably going to yell his ear of when he got home.

Maybe that woman had a grudge on him, and this was some big revenge plan. If so, then it was probably the best ‘spurned lover’ plan he’d fallen for. He thought back to that night, trying to recall if he had slept with that woman before. Ah, hell. Who was he kidding? He totally got duped.

Suddenly, he was blinded by a flash of light. He shielded his eyes and sat up. _Great, someone’s come to get me. I’ll never hear the end of it…_

But when his eyes adjusted to the light, he noticed that he wasn’t the only one removed from his cubed conundrum. Plenty of wildly dressed goons and ne'er-do-wells had jumped up and began yelling excitedly.

“ALL YOU UPSTANDING CRIMINALS… CAN YOU HERE ME?!!” A voice bellowed out. He looked down, and found the voice below him, on the main platform. “AS OF THIS MOMENT, YOU MAY ONCE AGAIN TASTE FREEDOM!!!”

A giant man stood in the center of the platform, with a larger spear and garb that no Magic Council member wouldn’t be caught dead in. “SO WHAT DO YOU THINK?! WILL YOU COME AND REPAY THIS GENEROUS FAVOR?!” The man continued yelling. “BY SLAUGHTERING EVERY ONE OF THESE FILTHY JAILERS?!!”

A resounding cheer reverberated from every end of the open prison. It took almost ever ounce of his own willpower not to join them. He just couldn’t help but be happy. _That woman didn’t Honey Trap me?! Looks like there still is a god!_

Gildarts got up and stretched for the first time since he got here. He looked down at the main platform and saw there was some nice women among the jailers. He got a silly grin on his face. _Alright, time to get to work._

Next Chapter: Crush Your Fears


	7. Crush Your Fears

Irene sat on her bench inside the perfectly cubed car trying to keep a straight face. Her stomach was doing flips, and her view was all blurry. She couldn’t hold on for much longer. If they didn’t arrive at their destination this minute, she was going to jump out the door, no matter how high up they were.

“We’re approaching the Black Vox now Ma’am.” The pilot said, like a gracious god. Everyone looked out the front window to see a giant black cube floating in the sky. It was easily the size of a large building, providing the perfect location for storing the most dangerous magical criminals safely and isolated.

“Black Vox, this is pod V coming in with guests to see an inmate, over.” The pilot said in his communication lacrima. Silence reined in the vehicle as they waited for a response, but there wasn’t a sound. The pilot went to call in again. “Black Vox this is pod V, do hear us?”

The lacrima finally sparked to return confirmation, but what came out was not the regular response. “Pod V this is Black Vox! A dark guild broke in and released everyone. They have the warden hostage! Send help!”

Irene sighed. It seems like she must do everything herself these days. “Hey pilot, stay out here until the all clear is given. Keep an eye on the kids.” She said as she opened the door, air rushing in.

“Mom?!” Erza shouted worried.

“Don’t worry sweetie, I’ll be right back.” She said loudly over the howl of the wind, before jumping out.

Irene stretched her magic out through herself and propelled herself toward the cubical correctional facility. As she approached, she couldn’t help but notice that this was becoming a trend.

* * *

Irene burst through the walls of Black Vox, using her staff like a battering ram again. She hadn’t seen any obvious entrances and didn’t have time to find one.

Immediately upon her dynamic entry, she scanned the room. The interior of the prison was one giant room. All around her were platforms holding various kinds of individuals. Their current emotions ranged from confusion to joy at their recent freedom. In the center of the room floated a large cube. There were two groups standing apart in a tense standoff. On one side stood the jailers of this place, wearing the same orderly garb as the Council employees in the car. On the other side, stood a group of goons wearing mismatching garbs and wielding threatening weapons.

One of the men on their size was over twice the size of the overs, wielding a spear that went even higher. Lying on the ground before the giant was a middle-aged man, the warden, Irene guessed. She ignored the criminals around her and flew toward them, speeding up when the giant pointed his spear at his hostage to finish him off.

**_*BANG*_ **

Irene’s staff flew into the large man like a missile, launching him towards the corner of the platform. He threw his spear down into the platform, slowing him before he could reach the edge. He raised his head to look at who would dare interfere, one real and one prosthetic eye staring in pure rage.

“Who dares interfere?! Do you know who I am?” The giant yelled.

“Don’t know, don’t care.” Irene said bluntly.

“Foolish woman, allow me to educate you!” He threw his arms wide. “I am Drum Bee, leader of the Five Bridge Familia. As of now, Black Vox has become my own personal guild! We are the strongest power in the continent as of now!” He proclaimed to a great cheer.

“You don’t say?” Item drawled. She glanced around, noticing that most inmates had yet to leave their personal platform, due to their precarious position. She looked to the rest of the Familia members and noticed one with a device of sorts that clearly didn’t belong to him.

“I think you should return this.” Irene reached out toward the device and pulled. It flew out of the man’s hand and flew into Irene’s hands. She looked down at the man she had saved, who was still sitting down in confusion. She tossed the device down to him. “You do know how to use this, yes?”

The warden immediately regained his composure and began typing and swiping the device like a mad man. Some of the wiser inmates caught on and started moving.

“Shit, she’s gonna trap us again!”

“Everyone jump!”

Suddenly, all the platforms around the core began to close, walls and ceilings appearing magically in an instant. With the press of a button, the prison had become a lot quieter. Of the couple hundred imprisoned here, only a couple dozen had avoided recapture.

“Kill her! Get the device back!” Drum immediately yelled to the remaining members. She supposed he only looked like a complete idiot, Irene thought.

The jailers finally started to act, running past Irene to put themselves between her and the Familia members. One of them turned to look at her. “I’m sorry for throwing this on you, but can you take care of their leader.” He said apologetically.

Irene nodded and walked toward the imposing figure already stalking toward her. Drum raised his spear up, and Irene enchanted her body. When the spear came thundering toward her head, Irene used her boosted speed to catch the oncoming weapon with her free hand.

“WHAT?!” Drum yelled, trying to free his polearm from her (seemingly) regular arm. Irene let go of the staff in her other hand and gripped her enemy’s weapon with both hands now. Irene jumped up, and Drum came with her, refusing to let go.

She saw that the remaining free inmates had gathered on one end of the central platform and were moving to ambush the jailers. Well, she couldn’t let that happen.

A target picked out she used her magic to float where she was and began spinning, Drum hanging on to his spear with a fury in his eyes. “Release me this instant you witch!”

“If you insist.” Irene grinned, releasing her hands at just the right moment. The monstrous man shot of like a rocket, straight toward his recent reinforcements. There was a crash, and the line had been broken by the man they wished to help. As said man was getting up from the crater he now found himself in, Irene made a noise of annoyance.

“You’re a tough bastard you know?” Irene said floating toward the ground.

“That’s right, I won’t stop getting up until I’ve defeated you! No cell in this place can hold me!” He snarled, getting up to his feat and readying another attack.

Seems he didn’t learn his lesson. “Then I’ll just have to make you a new one then.” She declared, as her feat finally reached the platform. In a second, the temperature inside dropped dramatically. A wave of magic pulsed out from her along the entire surface of the cube shaped main platform.

“NO! DAMN YOU!” Drum said lunging, but it was too late. In another second, giant pillars of ice sprouted from the platform, sealing all the enemy mages in an icy prison. Drum stood frozen as well, his spear only inches from Irene. She could feel a rush of cold air, all that was left of his desperate lunge.

Irene sighed, finally happy to be done with this little detour, when she heard a couple women shriek behind her. She whipped around and saw a cloaked man with his arms around two of the female jailers. He had a wicked grin on his face but didn’t seem to see her as a threat. _Hostages? That won’t do you any good!_

Irene swung her staff up as she jumped toward the deviant. He saw the oncoming swing and suddenly released the women in shock. He stumbled back, seeming to not expect a direct attack. “Wait-!?”

**_*SLAM*_ **

The man was pancaked onto the platform, creating another impact crater. Irene lifted her staff, inspecting the unconscious criminal who dodged her attack. His cloak had been blown aside, revealing disheveled orange hair of an older man. He was shirtless however, uncovering a buff chest … _Wait a moment._

Irene looked more closely and noticed an emblem adorning the mans chiseled abs. A familiar looking mark, in the shape of a fairy.

“Oh… Damn.”

* * *

“And with that, all of the prisoners have been returned to their cells. The cell system should melt the ones you froze… Eventually.” The head jailer with the staff said with a shrug. He turned to another jailer. “Give the all clear and resume normal procedure. Send a message to the council to inform them of the incident, and to send a team to fix the damages.”

“Sorry about that, didn’t have time to find what passes as a door in this place.” Irene said, not sounding or feeling rather sorry. The jailer just shook his head.

“Don’t worry about it. It was preferable to the alternative…” He said, looking over at the warden, as if to make sure he hadn’t gotten kidnapped again. “But where are my manners. I’m Grog Fot, head jailer of this place. Thank you for saving Warden Torch.” Grog said, bowing.

“Please Grog, it was my own fault for getting caught so easily.” The warden, Torch said, having noticed the focus put on him. “Those people wanted to get their guild leader out of here so badly they were willing to die for him.” He shook his head. “To think even dark guilds cared so much about their own.”

“Either way, we’re grateful for your assistant Ma’am, but why exactly are you here?” Grog asked curiously.

Just then, one of the flying cars used by the wardens flew in and landed next to them. The door flew open, and a rush of children flew out toward Irene.

“Mom did you beat them?”

“Did they hurt you?”

“How much butt did you kick?!”

Irene waited for the children to all stop badgering before speaking, like a teacher. “Don’t worry girls, I dealt with the problem perfectly fine. Not a scratch on me. It wasn’t a tough fight at all.”

The warden piloting the car got out and walked to the group. “Apologies for the delay head jailer Grog, sir. This woman is here to check on Gildarts, the member of Fairy Tail in our possession.”

Both Grog and Torch looked over at the crater said member was laying in, and then over to Irene with an inquisitive look. Irene avoided their gaze. “I didn’t know until after I hit him, OK?” She deflected.

Erza looked at the crater. “You killed him?! After we spent so long to get here! Mooom!” Erza whined.

“He’s not dead!” Irene said quickly, before sighing. “I’ll go get him up.” She strolled over to the man, resting in his new indented bed. She ran a little electricity magic in the tip of her staff and pointed it down to the man’s chest. She poked the end of the staff into him, but the perverted person didn’t move an inch.

“Hmm…” Irene brought her staff back up and looked at the tip. That _should_ have worked. “Alright, stand back girls.” She said, tapping her staff on the floor. The tip of said staff suddenly began crackling, as more and more electrical energy was channeled into it. She raised her staff above her head and-

“Gyaaah!!! I’m awake, I’m awake!” The man quickly got to his feet. “Jeez, did Makarov send you to finally get rid of me or something. There’s a good reason I’m here, I swear!”

“I couldn’t care less.” Irene said. “This detour is taking far too much effort then it should have. As much as I loath the idea, you’re going to help me make up the time. Got it?”

“What? Look, as much as I’d love to spend time with a beauty such as yourself, I make it a rule to at least not chase women that try to kill me…” He said, looking back behind Irene. “Or ones with kids.”

Irene just sighed. “This isn’t up for debate. I need to find Ur, and you’ve been around here for a while. I-”

“Wait, Ur? Why are you looking for her?” Gildarts questioned.

“I found her kid, and I got talked into returning her.” She said, pointing to the black-haired child behind her, who looked uncomfortably at her surroundings.

Gildarts eyes widened. “That so? Alright then, let’s go.”

Irene raised an eyebrow at the sudden change in motivation but decided not to punch a gift horse in the mouth. “Yes, lets. Come along girls, back in the car.”

The group all walked into the vehicle they arrived on, plus one new companion. After a moment, Erza poked her head out the door.

“Can one of you come fly this thing please?”

Grog and Torch both looked at each other.

“Sir, are we really going to let her walk out with one of our prisoners?”

“Something tells me she’ll be able to watch him better than we could.”

* * *

The Council car took them to the city closest to where Gildarts had last seen Ur and began walking.

“I met Ur while out on a job here about a year ago. She was looking for somewhere quiet, said the place reminded her of her kid.” Gildarts explained. “I could see the pain in her face, I can’t let a lady like her down.”

“But I’m sure you’re used to doing so.” Irene said matter-of-factly.

Gildarts nearly tripped on a patch of ice as they were walking along. “Seriously? I thought you’d be happy to have someone as awesome as me along…”

“Stop moping.” Irene said irritated. “Do you even know how she feels?”

“Of course. Fairy tails my family. If they needed me, I’d run home in a heartbeat.” Gildarts said determined.

“I’m surprised your not running _away_ from an army of Ex’s looking for child support.” Irene sniped.

“You don’t hold back do you.” Gildarts said, seeming to be happy just talking to Irene without threats of death. “Nah, I never had a kid. It’s kind of hard to have a serious relationship with my lifestyle. There was one time but… Hell, that was a long time ago.”

Gildarts turned his head and began wistfully looking at the mountains, lost in thought about the past. As much as Irene was annoyed with the mans’ very being, she could sort of understand his feelings.

“I… know what you mean.” Irene said, looking back to make sure the kids behind her weren’t listening. “I helped people all the time before. It’s what gave me purpose. But eventually I found that if you solve people’s problems long enough, they start to see you as part of the problem. I’d rather just focus on me and my daughter. Don’t have to worry about that anymore.”

Gildarts looked at her, and then scratched at his beard thoughtfully. “It won’t be like that forever you know.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Irene asked.

“If there’s one thing I learned about kids, is that they’ll disagree with their parents too, and it tends to get personal, and explosive.”

Irene thought back to Rob had told her back on the boat. _“Magic is a path that one shouldn’t be traveled alone. If Erza wants to learn it, perhaps you should consider a magic guild?”_ She shook her head. “We haven’t…”

“Your little girl’s making lots of friends her age in Fairy Tail. Not to mention learning magic. It’s only a matter of time before she thinks more about what she wants as an individual.” Gildarts began to lecture. “Don’t worry, it means she’s growing up, becoming more independent. You should be proud.”

“You’ll have to forgive me for finding those words less than encouraging, coming from you.” Irene said.

* * *

They finally reached the winter village Gildarts had mentioned when Ultear ran forward, looking around excited. “Yes! This is it; I remember this place. Mom has to be here!”

“It’s not exactly confirmed she’s here, but if she lived here before then it’s a good place to start searching…” Gildarts mumbled to himself.

“My house, it’s, umm… outside of the village, a small cabin. Come on!” Ultear said before sprinting down the snow-covered path, Erza and Mira not far behind.

“Kids! Don’t run off!” Irene said, but her warning was unheard in their excitement.

“Damn kids have to much energy, I tell you.” Gildarts sighed before picking up his pace to catch up, Irene not far behind.

By the time the two adults had caught up, they found themselves standing in front of an isolated cabin. Its door was wide open, and Irene could see plenty of snow had gotten inside. Irene walked in and began to reprimand the kids for their poor manners.

“Girls, you can’t just open the door to some strangers house like that! You made a mess.” She said sternly.

“The door was open when we got here…” Erza whined.

“The place doesn’t look abandoned though. Guess someone left in a hurry?” Mira noted.

“Look, look!” Ultear came running in from a side-room, holding up a crayon drawing. “I drew this right before I got sick. I couldn’t give it to Mom, so I hid it under my bed. This really is my house!”

Irene looked at a picture on the counter near her. “Ultear, did you have any siblings?” She asked.

“No? It was just my Mom and me.” Ultear said, confused by the change in topic.

“Do you know who these people are then?” Irene said, holding up a photo to Ultear face.

Said picture showed a smiling woman with her arms around two boys. The woman looked like an older Ultear with shortened hair. Both boys had short hair, but one boy was black and scruffy, while the other was white and pointing up.

Gildarts leaned down to observe the photo. “That’s definitely Ur. So, she probably still lives here.”

Ultear still looked confused at the photo. “Did… did my mom replace me?” She said slowly.

“No way!” Erza said. “There’s no way you could be replaced. You’re super important to her. My mom wouldn’t, so yours would either, got it?”

Ultear was still sad, but Erza’s words of encouragement seemed to put the doubt away for a moment.

“This is great and all, but where is Ur? There’s no sign of a break in, so the most likely thing is she left in a hurry, right?” Gildarts kept looking around the house during the conversation, and finally stopped to scratch his beard.

“But where would that be?” Irene said, knowing no one here likely knew the answer.

Gildarts sighed. “Guess we’re doing this the old-fashioned way.” He turned to walk out the door. “Time see if anyone in town knows something. Let’s split up and look for clues or something.”

* * *

Irene wouldn’t dare leave the kids alone, so really Gildarts just walked off himself to do whatever he wanted.

Probably to hit on the local towns’ women. The creep.

Irene finally walked into the Main Street of this frontier style town and looked around. There were few people outside, mostly only those walking from one building on the block to another. She saw the biggest building labeled ‘BAR’ at the top and decided to start there.

“Stay close kids.” She said.

She walked over to the door and walked in, followed by the three children. She usually would have told the kids to wait outside of such a place but considering the weather she decided against it.

She started to scan the interior trying to find where to start, but her eyes stopped halfway at the bar counter. Sitting there, she could see the ginger hair of a familiar man. She started to walk over to him before she even realized it.

“So, finally noticed my charm, eh?”

The man in the bar seat turned, drink in hand. He had a stupid smirk on his face, clearly expecting some tramp running into her arm instead of the monster approaching him now. His grin quickly faded, looking like a kid caught with his hand in a cookie jar.

“Ah, Gildarts. So glad to see your going all out looking for clues.” Irene smiled dangerously.

“Y-you bet. Went straight to the best rumour mill. All ready to get that info we need.” Gildarts said nervously.

“From all the local women, I’m sure…” Irene said unimpressed. She took a seat next to Gildarts. The kids all filed in on the tall seats next to her after a bit of effort.

“Oh, lay off. I haven’t had a drink in ages.” He whined.

As they continued arguing, the bartender finally wandered over from behind the counter after seeing that a fight wasn’t about to break out. “I know it’s cold out, but we don’t usually let kids sit at the… bar?” The man stopped when he looked at the kid on the far end. “You… are you Ur’s kid?!”

Gildarts and Irene stopped their bickering to look over to the bartender. “You know her?” Irene asked.

“Yeah, but only when she was little. I thought she died! What the hell is going on?” The bartender asked confused.

“Trust me pal, it’s a long story. Do you know where her mother is? We kind of need to return mini-Ur here.” Gildarts said. “We checked her house, but she seemed to have jumped town in a rush.”

“Hmm, I don’t remember hearing anything, but she’s always been a bit of a hermit. Not much happens out here, and the only thing she talks about are… the boys. Damn.”

Irene didn’t like the sound of that. “We saw a picture of them at her house. Who are they?”

The Bartender looked up wistfully, before explaining. “It was around a year ago. Ur suddenly came back one day with that white-haired brat, Lyon, and started training him. About a month later, the black haired one, Grey, appeared as well, and got the same treatment.” He looked down sadly. “Both those kids had their lives destroyed by Deliora, and they both wanted revenge. There were rumours that he appeared north of here, and I fear one of them might have ran off after him. Stupid kids.”

Irene got up and began walking towards the door. “Thanks for the info.” She said, as everyone scrambled to follow her.

* * *

“What the hell are we going to do now. Any towns north of here are days away. We’ll never catch up in time.” Gildarts said.

Irene finally stopped walking after reaching Ur’s cabin. She looked around. The hills around made it blocked off from the nearby towns sight.

The three kids were sitting on an uncovered log, exhausted from hiking through the snow. Gildarts was just looking at Irene, wondering why they had come back here.

“I have an idea. But it might be a bit tiring.” Irene said.

“That’s fine. Anything to help Ultear, right?” Erza said looking over at the two girls beside her. They both nodded as well.

“Alright. Let’s go.” Irene swept her staff, and the three kids slumped forward in their seats, heads dropping down into a sleep. Irene heard a thump as Gildarts fell face first into the snow behind her.

Irene put away her staff and released the magic keeping her body how it was. She began to increase in size and change form until she was completely unrecognizable. She became a dragon.

She carefully grabbed the others and put them on her back. She used magic to keep them stuck to her, since they couldn’t hold on in their current state. Finally, she spread her wings and began flying north as fast as she could.

_I didn’t come all this way for nothing, dammit. That woman better still be alive, or I’ll kill her._

Next Chapter: Frozen in the Past


	8. Frozen in the Past

Irene flew high up in the air, following the North Star and looking for smoke. It was nighttime now, and she had been flying for a couple hours. She wouldn’t be able to see a town that well this high up, but she would likely be able to see the fire and smell the smoke from a town being ravaged by a giant demon.

Eventually, Irene saw something on the horizon. It was flickering bright lights, surrounded by dark clouds. She began to smell smoke, and knew she found the location.

As she got closer, she could see a giant muscular figure as tall as her dragon form standing in the middle of the flames, with monstrous horns and claws. It was partly tangled in what looked to be clear crystal vines. As it bashed away the shining wrappings, it began to charge magical energy in front of its mouth.

Irene didn’t know what it was aiming at, but knew she had to stop it. With a burst of energy, she propelled herself lower toward the demon and held out one of her clawed forward limbs.

* * *

Ur was laying down on the ground, still reeling from Deliora’s last attack. Gray and Leon laid a bit behind her, only slightly injured but unconscious from the demons’ gigantic rage.

Ur was reaching her limit. She had used up all the magic she reasonably could and knew that whatever she was doing now probably hurt herself as much as it did for this bastard. She tried to get up but fell to her side.

“Ah! What…?!”

Oh, she was missing a bit of her right leg. Ur just grit her teeth and put her hands together, before bringing them down to her missing appendage. Suddenly, ice appeared creating a replica leg from her shins down. It wasn’t as articulate as a real thing, basically a fancy peg leg, but it’ll do.

Ur looked up and saw that monster breaking out of the icy brambles she had made and begin charging another blast. It was slowing down, as she wouldn’t have had time to react at the beginning of their fight. She was just worried that she would stop moving before it did, at this rate.

She put her hands together, getting ready to up a shield again. Right before she moved to defend there was a blur, and Deliora was suddenly gone.

**_*CRASH*_ **

A plume of debris shot up as the earth shook. Ur nearly fell over, failing to balance with her new leg properly. When she looked up to where Deliora had been, she saw something else.

Giant wings spread up from the ground, attached to great beast. It stood on four legs and had blood red scales and fur all over its body. Its tail was large, and had a head like a lizard, with teeth and eyes that froze even the strongest heart.

There was no mistaking what Ur saw. It was a dragon. And it was looking right at her.

“Eep!” Ur couldn’t help but squeak. She fell backwards and began backing away. She heard the ground rumble however, and both her and the dragon looked to the side to see Deliora clawing itself out of the crater the winged behemoth had launched it into.

‘Hmph, that monster’s tough. Guess I should go all out for once.’

Ur heard the feminine voice in her head. She looked back at the dragon, who was looking at her again as well. It reached up and grabbed something on its back, before moving its giant hand next to her.

‘Keep an eye on these ones for me. I believe one of them belongs to you.’

It opened its grip, and three children floated down out of its hand onto the ground. An older man in a cloak also fell out, but he seemed to land a bit more roughly than the others. She was a bit too distracted by one of the children in front of her.

“Ultear?! How-” Ur didn’t get a chance to ask her question however, as the dragon suddenly leapt up and pounced toward the demon. They began battling, shaking the earth with their every move.

Ignoring the clash of titans around her, Ur got up and walked over to Ultear, picking her up in her own arms. She was asleep, like the rest of the people the dragon dropped off, but it was clearly her. She looked back up, trying to take in all the chaos of the last few minutes. “What the hell is going on?” She said tiredly.

“Trust me, it’s a long story.” A voice said behind her. She whirled her head around and saw the man in the cloak had gotten up, revealing a scruffy face with orange hair all over.

“Wait, I know you from somewhere… you’re from Fairy Tail, right?” Ur said.

“Really?! I’m glad you remembered me. Name’s Gildarts.” He said back, looking up at the mayhem in front of him. “Damn, I knew that woman was scary, but this is something else.”

“What do you mean. What’s going on, is this real?” Ur asked frantically.

“Yup. That’s really Ultear. Like I said, it’s a bit of a long story. Put simply, the people ‘treating’ your daughter were a bunch of mad scientists and faked her death so they could get their hands on her.” Gildarts said, as he dragged Gray and Lyon over to the rest of the kids. “Irene was the who started all this and can give you the long version once she’s done beating that demon around like a cat toy.”

The two mages looked back over to see that Deliora had been lifted into the air by the dragon, one arm gripping its shoulder, and another over the monsters’ face. After going a ways up, they began to rocket back down toward the ground.

*BOOM*

The two beasts crashed close to them, sending large clumps of rubble flying up and towards them. Gildarts stepped out in front of them and swung an arm out. His Crush magic shot out in a burst of white energy, reducing the debris to bits, which harmlessly fell to the ground. As the dust settled, Ur saw Deliora laying unmoving on the ground. It wasn’t dead yet, but it was obviously out of the fight. On top of the demon stood not a dragon but a woman. She had a large wooden staff in one hand, and dressed in traditional, yet revealing witches’ attire. The woman suddenly jumped up off the defeated monster and over to Ur and Gildarts in a single bound.

“Do you have enough magic to tie it up?” Irene asked.

“N-no, I’m kinda out of everything right now…” Ur said tired. Irene then walked over to Ur and put a hand on her shoulder. She suddenly felt her exhaustion fading as magic began to pour into her.

“There, shouldn’t be a problem now.” Irene said. “Make sure it can’t open its mouth.”

Ur decided it best to follow her instructions and thrust her hands together. In a moment, thorny vines wrapped tightly around Deliora.

“What are you planning Irene? Didn’t your mother ever teach you to not play with your food?” Gildarts said.

Irene just rolled her eyes. “I should have known that sleep spell wouldn’t work as well on you.” Irene said. “Don’t worry, this monster won’t be a problem soon. I just thought of someone who could have a more appropriate use for this demon.” She waved her staff and the children began to stir, including Grey and Lyon. They all began to slowly get up and look around confused, until one of them noticed the giant demon nearby.

“AHH! What is that?!” Erza yelled. All the kids looked over and began talking at the same time.

“Is _that_ Deliora?!” Mira asked worried.

“It’s dead?! Did Ur really beat it?” Gray said amazed. Lyon stood there just as amazed.

“Mom? Mom, is that really you?!” Ultear said, throwing herself into Ur’s arms.

Irene clapped her hands, trying to get everyone’s attention. “I’m sure everyone has a lot of questions, but we can talk all about it later.” Irene said.

Irene turned to look at Mira before continuing. “Mira, how would you like for another lesson? One that you can only have right now?”

Mira looked shocked. “Uh? What lesson could you teach me now?” She asked confused.

Irene grinned. “How to use your magic to take over a demon, of course.”

* * *

The group now stood much closer to Deliora, looking fearfully at the immobile fiend. While its body was still, exhausted and trapped in a bundle of icy cables, its eyes stared deeply into all that were present, as if it was trying to kill them all with just a glare. If there was any being that could do so, it was a monster like this.

Irene stood only and arms length away, with Mira standing beside her. She had one hand pressed against the demon, looking over at Mira. “See, he can’t hurt you from here. Now, it’s time for a lesson.”

Mira looked scared, as any child reasonably should, standing next to a living natural disaster. “Do I have to? I think maybe we’re moving a bit fast…” She said.

“I now this seems like a bit of a jump, but this is a perfect opportunity. This thing is completely out of energy and won’t be able to fight back against your Take Over magic. You’ve managed to learn how to remove the effects Take Over, now all you need to do is learn how to _add_ the effects.” Irene said, like this was a perfectly normal lecture. It was true, however. Mira’s hand had turned back to normal sometime after Irene’s previous lecture, and all that remained was a small stump where her horn had been.

Mira looked from Irene to the demon, then around at the destruction around her. “Wont I turn into a monster though? Start rampaging around and destroying things like Deliora did? I don’t want to hurt my friends…”

Irene shook her head. “Just because you took its powers, doesn’t mean you’ll be just like it. There might be a danger of losing yourself to its rage if it was at full strength, but as it is all you need to do is focus.”

Mira slowly put her hand onto Deliora and closed her eyes. Irene could see her trying to go through the same meditation technique she had taught her earlier, but Mira was still shaking. Her fear of what could happen to herself and others blocking her focus.

“Mira!” A voice called out behind them. They turned their heads to see Erza waving at them. “I know you can do it! Elfman and Lisanna know you can too! So there’s nothing to worry about!” Erza stuck a thumb up and grinned at Mira.

Mira turned back and looked down at the ground. Irene was worried she was going to give up, but after a moment Mira raised her hand to the demon. Her eyes were closed, and her mouth was closed in a flat line, but her body had stilled finally. Magic began to flow around her as she reached into Deliora and took its power for her own. The monster and Mira began to both glow, and Deliora began to disappear, absorbed by the smaller light.

Eventually the lights dimmed, and all that remained was Mira. She had a dark purple aura around her that blocked her appearance from view, but demonic features could be seen protruding across her body. She was shaking, and Irene could hear her breathing deeply, coming out like growl. Irene looked worriedly at Mira. _Maybe I underestimated the demons reserve energy._

But suddenly, the purple aura faded. Mira’s breath calmed, and she bent down to her knees. Irene could hear her sniffling from beside her, seemingly upset at her form.

“Mira!” “Are you OK?!” both Erza and Ultear started running up to her.

“STOP!” Mira yelled. “Stay back, I don’t want to hurt you two.” She said, refusing to look at them.

Erza and Ultear both looked at each other, before nodding and walking up to Mira. She suddenly found two sets of arms around her. “What are you two doing? Get off me!” She said, trying to shake them off.

“No!” Ultear said. “We won’t let go, no matter how hard you try!”

“Yeah!” Erza Agreed. “You wouldn’t hurt us. You’re our friend, no matter what you look like!”

Mira stopped struggling and stopped crying. “You’re right.” She took one of her monstrous arms and wiped the tears from her face. She began to glitter again, and there was a bright flash. When the light faded, Mira sat there, back in her normal form, hugging her friends.

Gildarts and Ur walked over, both grinning happily. “Well what do you know, it actually worked. Guess you do know what your doing.” Gildarts said.

Irene shook her head. “No. Without her friends, I doubt Mira would have been able to accomplish this.” She looked at the three and couldn’t help but be worried. _Will Erza want to leave her friends after all this?_

Gray and Lyon stood back, staring blankly where the demon had once been.

“Hey Lyon?”

“Yeah Grey?”

“Did that girl just _eat_ Deliora?”

“… I think she did.”

“… Girls are scary.”

* * *

Dawn had begun to arrive, and the group of mages and children had finally exited the destroyed town. They now stood on the outskirts, and the children were now throwing all their questions at Irene. Clearly, later had finally come around.

“Everyone be quiet!” Irene said sternly. “To answer your questions, yes, I beat Deliora, but Ur also fought it for a while. I didn’t ‘beat it single-handedly’. And yes, that really is Ultear, we rescued her from a bunch of mad scientists who did lots of bad things, and the braces on her are for her to control her excess magical energy. Any other questions?”

Erza raised her hand. “Yes Erza?” Irene said.

“How did we get here? I don’t actually remember how.” Erza said confused. Ultear and Mira nodded their heads in agreement.

“I used a teleportation spell.” She lied. “It uses the energy of the people being moved, so you all got tired and fell asleep.”

Erza looked unsure. “Really?” Irene looked quickly over to Gildarts.

“Oh yeah, it’s a pretty tough spell. I bet if I wasn’t here, you would have been able to get far enough.” Gildarts said, nodding a little to vigorously in agreement.

“It was quite spectacular. They just popped in front of me in a flash of light. Very impressive.” Ur added, miming the same nodding gesture.

All the kids made some impressed noises and looked at Irene in amazement. While she was annoyed at their exaggerations, she was glad they were keeping her truth a secret.

Gray raised a hand. “Yes, Grey?” Irene said to the boy.

“This isn’t really a question for you, but… What now?” He asked.

Ur snapped her fingers. “Oh, that reminds me. Grey, Lyon…” She walked over to the two of them, and raised back both hands, before slapping both across their cheeks. “YOU GODDAMN IDIOTS!” She yelled.

Before the boys could say anything, she continued scolding them, turning to the black-haired boy. “What the Hell were you thinking, Grey?! Running of to fight Deliora on your own without telling me!” She then turned to Lyon. “And you! Instead of telling me, you ran off after him?! You’re lucky you both weren’t killed!” She exclaimed loudly.

Both kids were looking down at the ground for a few moments. Grey finally spoke up. “You’re right, you got really hurt because of me. I don’t deserve to be your apprentice, I’ll just leave.” He turned to walk off.

“Yeah, I’m no good either. I guess you wouldn’t want us around now anyway.” Lyon said solemnly, before going to follow Grey.

Before they could get very far, Ur got down on her knees and threw her arms around the two of them. “You idiots, you don’t have to leave. Just tell me before you think about doing something this stupid again, alright?” She said.

“But why would you want us around? Deliora’s gone. You don’t need to train us anymore!” Grey said surprised.

“But you have your old kid back, why do you need us?” Lyon added just as confused.

“It doesn’t matter when or how many of you there are, you are still my family, and you don’t turn your back on family. Even if they do stupid shit like you two did. Got it?” She said.

The boys both looked up at Ur with tears in their eyes. “Ur, We’re sorry!” “We won’t do it again, we promise!” They said, crying and hugging Ur.

Ultear walked over to them cautiously. Ur and the boys looked up at her and grinned. “I guess you have these two idiots as siblings now. Hope that’s OK?” Ur said cheekily.

Ultear looked down nervously. “I kinda always wanted to have a brother…” She said quietly, before getting pulled into the group hug.

After a while everyone calmed down and they began to discuss what to do next. Ur sat on the ground, propping her ice leg up on a piece of debris. Irene was looking over the injury with her magic. “Your ice magic should keep the wound sealed until you can find a proper prosthetic for it. You’re surprisingly resistant to the cold, so it shouldn’t give you frostbite or anything.” Irene said.

“That’s good, but now what should I do. Taking care of three of these kids back in that little shack of mine isn’t going to work.” Ur said.

“You could go to Fairy Tail!” Erza said. Irene just sighed. This was the second time Erza had asked people to join the guild, despite not actually being a member. If Irene didn’t know any better, she’d think her daughter was trying to tell her something.

“That doesn’t sound like a bad idea, actually.” Ur said.

“Wait, seriously?! But you turned my offer down.” Gildarts said confused.

“The circumstances were different, obviously.” Irene said, like she was lecturing one of the kids.

“We’ll have to go get some stuff from back at the house and find a place to get a prosthetic for this thing,” Ur said, waving her icy foot around. “But I think that’s the best place to keep an eye on the kids, while teaching them how to use magic.”

Gildarts shook his head. “Man, Makarov is probably gonna croak from all the kids you’re sending him.” He said (probably) jokingly.

“Well, we have to take Mira back to Fairy Tail to her siblings and pick up some… friends of ours. Are you going to tag along?” Irene asked Gildarts.

“Might as well. Been a while since I was back.” He nodded.

“Alright, then I guess We’ll meet up again at Fairy Tail, OK Ultear?” Erza said.

“Right. I can’t wait to see you two again.” Ultear then turned to Irene and bowed slightly. “Thank you for bringing me home.”

“Don’t mention it, kid. Just glad everything worked out.” Irene said.

* * *

After splitting off from Ur and her children, it took almost a week to get back to the Fairy Tail guild building back in Magnolia. When they approached the gate of town Irene saw one of the guards look surprised, before turning back and yelling something to some one in the gate building. Suddenly, an alarm started blaring. She was getting ready for trouble, but Gildarts put an arm on her shoulder.

“Relax, this happens every time I come home.” Gildarts said, as if putting the town on high alert by _visiting_ was normal. He continued waking toward the gate, and the others followed, but at a slightly larger distance then before.

Suddenly the ground began to shake, and the houses in front of them lifted from the ground, moving around like god himself had reached down to clear the way for their party. Irene looked around at the frankly ridiculous mechanical marvel around her and couldn’t help but ask. “Why?” Was all she could say.

“Apparently I cause to much damage whenever I come into town. I just kinda walk straight to the guild building and would walk through any walls in the way.” He laughed, ignorant of the indignant looks behind him. “Honestly, it seems like overkill. I mean, I barely stop by once every year or so!”

They finally reached the front doors of the guild building which were currently closed shut. Gildarts kept walking though, and upon reaching the door, it burst into dozens of neat, rectangular pieces all over the ground. He then continued as if his attack on the property hadn’t happened. Irene followed suit. “Watch your step girls.”

When they all entered the guild hall, there was an uproar from every corner.

“Gildarts!”

“You’re finally back, you crazy fool!”

“Damn right I am! Someone get me a drink!” Gildarts shouted.

“Yeah!!” A giant cheer was thrown up, and mugs and glasses were spread and filled in every corner of the hall. Even the ‘kids’ corner’ seemed to have a stack of fancy but probably non-alcoholic drinks. Speaking of which…

Irene could see Simon and Kagura at the table, along with Jellal and a couple of other kids from last time, mostly from the tower she had rescued them from. There was one brunette girl ignoring the drinks and seemed to be more interested in Gildarts. She must be new or something. Most importantly though, were two white haired children with their backs turned to them.

“Lisanna! Elfman!” Mira exclaimed, running over to her siblings. They both looked over to her sister in surprise and ran over to meet her.

“Mira, your back to normal!” Lisanna said.

“Yeah Sis! You look great!” Elfman agreed.

Mira had changed into warmer clothes on the boat ride over, and no longer hid her head or arms with bulky winter wear. In fact, she wasn’t hiding much of anything anymore. She was wearing a top that exposed her back and was wearing jeans that barely reached her knees, ‘for her magic’, Mira had said. On her head she wore a headband that had two small demon horns poking out of them. Mira had noticed them on the way into town and insisted on getting them, saying they ‘made her look cute’. Mira had been very insistent on asking Erza what she thought of them and couldn’t help but think back to Erza’s words when the two first met.

_“Hideous? I thought the horn made you look cute.”_

“Yup, all back to normal. I wouldn’t have been able to do it with Irene teaching me. Or my friends to support me.” Mira said.

Lisanna turned to look at Irene. “Thanks for helping my sis! And for telling us about Fairy Tail.” She said.

“Speaking of which, did you end up finding who you were looking for?” Elfman asked quietly.

“Yes, I would be quite interested in hearing about that as well, if you don’t mind?” A voice said behind Irene. She turned to see the Guild Master standing behind her.

“Can’t you ask Gildarts?” Irene asked.

“Nah, he’s a bit too busy having a drink with the guild to discuss his missions. Speaking of, how about we go get one while you tell me, eh? On the house.” Makarov said, clearly trying to move the discussion away from the children.

“All right. Erza, why don’t you hang out here for a bit. I’ll be right back.” Irene said.

Erza didn’t even respond, as she had already grabbed one of the fancy drinks on the table and was sitting next to Simon, explaining to everyone what had happen on their adventure.

* * *

Irene sat on one of the bar stools at the counter, and Makarov sat next to her. “Two of the usual!” He ordered cheerfully, before turning to Irene.

“The new waitresses we got are amazing, they can take your order no matter how crazy this place gets!” He said.

“I feel bad for any woman in their position. The turnover for the job must be ridiculous.” Irene thought out loud, looking at the chaos around her. Drinks and people flying, like a brawl was happening. Yet no one seemed to be fighting seriously, just playing around like a bunch of overgrown children.

“Here’s your drinks, Master Makarov, Lady Irene.” A familiar voice said.

“Thanks-?!” Irene began to say as she reached for her drink, only to jolt her head up at the sound of the voice.

There stood Juliet, her walking weapon, wearing a stereotypical maid’s outfit. “Hello master, it’s so nice to see meow!” She said, bringing her left hand up like a cat paw and striking a pose.

“Juliet, what the hell are you doing?” Irene asked.

“When the two of them brought back those children, they didn’t have anything to do till you got back.” Makarov informed her. “Only guild members can take jobs, but they looked tough, so I decided to hire them as waitresses for a while.”

“It’s really fun!” Juliet said. “We get to wear these weird clothes, all the men are really nice to us, and if they get too antsy, we get to kick the crap outta them!”

_*CRASH*_

Irene looked behind her to see one of the male members tied to the bench they sat on with black bands. Heine stood over the man with a neutral expression. “Would you like another drink, sir? You seem to be quite excited, maybe you should take a break.” She said.

“Mmmph? Mmph!” The man’s voice however came out all muffled, due to the bands over his mouth.

“You’re done for the day? That’s a good choice sir.” Heine said blankly before walking off, leaving the man immobile in his seat.

“We even get paid now! Isn’t this so cool!” Juliet said.

“Hey, Juliet! Pour another one for my aching heart…” An older man with a cigar in his mouth said solemnly.

“On it! Well, see you after work Lady Irene.” Juliet said before walking over to the sad man at the other end of the bar.

“… Where were we again?” Makarov asked eventually.

* * *

Irene filled the Guild Master in on what had happened on her trip, from Gildarts and the prison break, to Deliora and Ur.

“So, yeah. Your going to have a few more members soon.” Irene finished.

“Seriously? I know I said we’d take in almost anyone, but this isn’t an orphanage.” Makarov said. “I already had to talk some of my old friends into taking care of some the one’s Rob sent.”

“I noticed that there were less kids than before.” Irene said.

“Yes. Well, at least these ones have a parent to keep an eye on them.” Makarov sighed. “But that’s for us to figure out. I’m just wondering what your going to do now.”

Irene sighed. “What is with everyone wondering about my personal life?” She asked annoyed. “I don’t plan on doing anything. I’m going to go find another village to live in and let my daughter grow up having a quiet life.”

“I think you’re well beyond that point.” Makarov said, looking behind her.

“Mom.” Irene turned around to find Erza standing there. She had a determined look on her face, staring straight into Irene’s eyes. Simon and Mira stood by her side, trying to stand tall against the adults high up on their bar seats.

“Yes dear?” Irene asked, already knowing where this was going.

“… I’m going to join Fairy Tail.” She declared.

Irene raised an eyebrow. “You’re not going to ask if you can instead?” She said surprised.

“No. I can tell you don’t want to join the Guild, but I’m not you. I want to learn magic, but I also want to be with my friends. If my trip has shown me anything, it’s that you can do both at the same time. I don’t just want to learn magic, but help my friends learn as well. So, I’m joining Fairy Tail whether you like it or not.” Erza said.

Irene couldn’t help but be surprised by her daughter’s words. She didn’t- no, she couldn’t talk her daughter out of this. But what should she do? She could just walk out and let her daughter stay here. No, she won’t leave her daughter alone. That only left her one option. But could she really join a magic guild?

During her musing, an entourage of official looking people had walked in. There was a group of Rune Knights, two standing on each side of the person ahead of them. Leading this group was not a man, but a bipedal frog person. He walked forward to the bar, unaware and uncaring of the mother-daughter confrontation currently happening. Once he reached the bar, he looked over to Irene. “You are Irene Belserion, yes? The Magic Council wishes to see you at once.”

Irene snapped out of her thoughts, looking at the Council Employee uninterested. “I don’t care. Leave.” She said.

“This is a direct summon by the Chairman and the entire Council itself personally. You will come.” The messenger continued. “Master Makarov, you have been requested as well.”

Makarov looked at the amphibious individual confused. “This woman isn’t a part of Fairy Tail. If she caused any damage, we didn’t do it this time, we swear.” He said seriously.

“Seriously? How scatter brain is this guild!” Irene said annoyed.

“That is not why I am here. I’m afraid the reason for our visit is confidential currently. Please come with us to the Councils Headquarters in Era.” The messenger said definitively.

Irene and Makarov looked at each other. She just knew that whatever happened, she wasn’t going to like it.

Next Chapter: Double Dragon


	9. Double Dragon

“We stand here today to honor a true exemplary figure in the eyes of mages everywhere.”

Irene stood straight like a statue, fearing to move even an inch, else the cameras and press in front of her gain anything.

“This woman has accomplished many tasks, at the behest of no one but herself, and saved the lives of many.”

It took all her willpower not to roll her eyes at the statement. Just because they didn’t ask, didn’t mean she did it out of the goodness of her heart.

“She helped the Rune Knights save many from the clutch of Cultists looking to bring ruin with a dangerous device of our shores.”

More like she did most of the work, and the Rune Knights cleaned up after her. Not that they would say that in front of the press.

“She cooperated with the uncovering of an illegal magical research facility and assisted in the capture of their leader, one of the most wanted dark mage’s alive.”

If by ‘cooperated’, they mean uncovered and solved the whole thing herself, then beat their crazy leader one-on-one, sure. She wouldn’t have been able to defeat Zero without Lahar’s _moral support_.

“She defended the prison of Black Vox from an invasion of dark mages hoping to cause a prison break, aiding the Jailers and even saving the Wardens life.”

She would say that the prison break had already happened, and she unbroke it. But if none of them actually left the prison itself, would anyone really notice the difference.

“And most spectacularly, killed the dreaded demon Deliora singlehandedly! The same monster that had rampaged across the western kingdoms for years.”

Of course, the most impressive feat listed is the one that she didn’t accomplish totally by herself. Ur had surprisingly done a lot of the work herself. Irene could see why she was considered a candidate for one of the ten Wizard Saints.

Speaking of which…

“Which is why today I, Crawford Seam, Chairman of the Magic Council, am honored to bestow upon Irene Belserion the title of Wizard Saint.” The large man beside her said, before placing a round pin onto her tunic. It was blue, with a silver cross and many other decorations embraided into it.

At the declaration, lights from the cameras and voices from the reports flowed forth, barely drawn out by the round of applause in congratulations by those present. Irene subtly glanced to her side, where some other members of the Wizard Saints were standing. Among them was Makarov, having changed out of his jester-like clothes for more appropriate attire, including a cape with the Saint’s symbol on the back. Their eyes met, and Irene couldn’t help but let out a small sigh.

How the hell had this happened…

* * *

_~A Few Hours Ago~_

“You want to make me a _what_?!” Irene asked incredulously.

“The Magic Council wants to make you a Wizard Saint.” Yajima said, letting out a sigh. “It won’t change no matter how many times you ask.”

Irene was currently back at the Magic Councils Headquarters, standing inside the office of the Council Member currently speaking to her. Makarov was also there, sitting on a chair in the corner of the room.

“But why?! The Council hadn’t even heard of me until a couple weeks ago. Aren’t Wizard Saints those recognized by the Council as the strongest mages? I thought they were just the Councils lap dogs?” Irene said.

“While some of them are rather… supportive of the council directly, most are members of Magic Guilds, and the highest are mostly hermits. We may call on them sometimes to assist in jobs of great difficulty or importance, but their mostly free to do what the want. Take Makarov here. He may be a part of the Wizard Saints, but most of the Council still wants him to be locked up in the lowest dungeons.” Yajima said, smiling cheerfully.

“Don’t look so happy while saying that, dammit!” Makarov yelled.

“There is another reason…” Yajima said, ignoring the raging dwarf beside him. “Between the Cultists, Zero, and Deliora, you’ve solved a lot of problems that the Council had been trying to solve or ignore for years. We have no choice but to acknowledge it, else the people’s confidence in us might shatter.”

“So that’s it? You want to make me a Wizard Saint to make people think you were responsible for my actions?” Irene said unimpressed.

“We _did_ help you with many of your task’s. Would you have been able to find the Cultist’s Hideout, or Ur, without our help? Or the permission to raid Zero’s facility? Maybe, but it wouldn’t have been as fast or effective.” Yajima said.

Irene just glared at the Council Member. “I don’t care about your Councils image. What’s stopping me from just walking out?” She asked.

Yajima scratched his chin. “Right now? Nothing, I suppose. But if you made the Council lose favor, some might try to make your life rather difficult. You would probably have a hard time providing for your daughter after being blacklisted from every magical job in the surrounding kingdoms.” He said.

Irene stilled. “Are you… threatening me?” She said dangerously.

“Not personally, but this isn’t just your problem anymore. Besides, you’re being over-dramatic.” Yajima said. “Like I said before, there’s a way to become a Wizard Saint without being caught up in the machinations.”

Makarov looked over at Yajima. “So _that’s_ your plan? I’m not against it, since it was probably going to happen anyway…” He said, before looking over to Irene.

Irene looked at the two older men confused, before her eyes widened. “You can’t be serious…” She sighed, going deep into her thoughts.

It was true _that_ option would be the best option, for both herself and her daughter. But could she do it? Or did she even have a choice?

_“this isn’t just your problem anymore.”_

That’s right. She couldn’t just focus on what she wanted anymore. Her daughter needed to grow, learn magic, make friends. This is the safest way she could do it, where she can keep an eye on her while providing her with a reliable job.

But the people… Irene didn’t know if she could be around that many people again. That she could trust anyone else.

_“We always welcome family, no matter where they’re from.”_

_“You need to stop looking at everything in payments and favors. It’s just friends helping each other out.”_

_“Of course. They’re my family. If they needed me, I’d run home in a heartbeat.”_

Maybe this time will be different. Maybe these people will be different. Maybe she could give them a chance…

* * *

Irene found herself drawn out of her thoughts by all the noise and lights around her. She looked around to notice many reporters trying to ask her all questions at the same time. She looked over to the chairman beside her, and he gave a slight glance towards the reporters. She just rolled her eyes and pointed to one of the reporters in the front, a professional looking man in glasses. The reporters all quieted slightly, recognizing that questions were finally being asked and answered.

“Hobs, from Mages Weekly. What kind of magic do you use?” The man asked, holding up a recording lacrima.

“Enchantments, mostly.” Irene said. There was quite a wave of whispers and talk after the reveal. Not to surprising, if she was honest. Few seemed to master the magic these days, so even the idea of beating a monster like Deliora would seem ludicrous. But it’s not like she needed to lie about it. If anyone tested her, she could just prove it to them in a… personal demonstration. She pointed another hand to a shorter woman on the right.

“Katelin from Wizarding Ways. Why did you do all this, and in just a few weeks?” She asked incredulously, holding a pen to a notepad.

“That’s private. Let’s say it was a personal problem and leave it at that.” Irene said. She knew that her daughter wouldn’t be much of a secret soon, and that these hounds would probably try to connect her kid to the Cultist’s kidnappings that started this whole adventure. But they could froth at the mouth over the story well after she’s gone. She pointed to a kid in the back, this one much younger and lankier than the other.

“Jason from Sorcerer Magazine. Are you a part of a Guild, or are you freelance?!” He shouted, and everything quieted. The crowd nearly silenced itself in anticipation of the answer.

“I’m not currently part of any guild…” Irene said, as she glanced over her shoulder toward Makarov, who was shooting her a grin. She looked back to the crowd before answering.

“However, I do plan on joining Fairy Tail.”

The crowd went wild. The reporters all started speaking again at once, like a pack of dogs. The Chairman of the Magic Council, along with many of his peers, looked shocked by the sudden announcement. Yajima must not have filled him in. Oh well. Among the Wizard Saints, Makarov stood there with a stupid grin, while the Saint beside him in purple looked like he was ready to tear his head off, not that he cared. All Makarov could think of was the number of new members he’ll be getting from all this new fame.

* * *

After a few more minutes, the Chairman moved forward and made another small speech about the Magic Council ‘continuing to support’ the magical world, then turning to walk Irene out of the hall the Council had made their announcement in. Once the Council Members and Wizard Saints had all entered, the Chairman turned to Irene.

“well, that announcement was certainly a shock. Are you sure you want to join a guild right away, especially one of such, how should I say, ‘infamy’?” Crawford asked.

“You trying to say something, Chairman?” Makarov responded.

“He’s saying your guild’s reckless and irresponsible. But she clearly understands what she’s getting into after what she’s seen of them. Wouldn’t you agree, Crawford?” Yajima said.

“Hmm, well I suppose. Just to try to stay out of trouble, or at least tell us beforehand. The title of Wizard Saint can be taken away from you just as easily as it was given if you act irresponsibly.” The Chairman warned Irene, before turning away. “If you’ll excuse me, we have much to accomplish today. Good luck at Fairy Tail!” He said, waving behind him. The rest of the Council left with him to return to their duties, with Yajima giving a quick wink to her before leaving. The few Wizard Saints that had gathered in time mostly just bowed and congratulated her, before leaving. She didn’t feel to upset by the short meeting, as she would probably be annoyed at getting called on such short notice for an event like _this_. The only people that stayed behind in the end were herself, Makarov, and the purple man from before, who was doing a little better at hiding his murderous intent for his fellow Saint.

“Well, I suppose congratulations are in order, Lady Irene. Allow me to introduce myself. My name is Jose Porla, Guild Master of the illustrious Phantom Lord, and fellow Wizard Saint. A pleasure to meet you.” The man said, taking his wizard cap off and holding it over his heart, before bowing.

“Likewise.” Irene said. She knew she shouldn’t, but she didn’t really care, so she decided to just ask. “Is there something wrong? You seemed rather surprised by my announcement of joining Fairy Tail.”

She could see Jose’s face twitch slightly, but he recovered quickly enough and answered. “I just can’t help but echo the Chairman’s worries. Joining the first guild you run into, without exploring the alternatives, seems a bit short sighted.” He said in a tone that clearly implied little love for Fairy Tail.

“I hardly doubt investigating alternatives would change her mind. In fact, that would properly only make her more certain!” Makarov said darkly.

“What exactly are you implying, my dear friend?” Jose questioned, turning so the two men were face to face. Direction wise, at least.

Irene sighed. She didn’t have time for these idiot’s dick measuring contest. “I’ll be sure to keep your opinion in mind, Jose. If you’ll excuse me, I don’t want to keep my daughter waiting.” She said, before immediately turning and walking off. It was true, Erza was with Juliet and Heine somewhere in the crowd watching the event. She could see her daughter losing her mind about the announcement she made.

Irene kept on walking. It took a couple hallways before she couldn’t hear the two Saint’s arguing, but after a couple more hallways she couldn’t hear anyone around anymore. She had clearly gotten lost, but refused to turn back, lest she run face first into the two Guild Masters again. Besides, she had to find someone who knew where an exit was eventually.

Suddenly she heard clapping behind her, slow and exaggerated. “Congratulations, Irene Belserion! You have truly made a name for yourself in no time at all.” A voice said impressed. Irene turned to see a man standing behind her. He had orange hair that slit off atop his head like giant ears, and a scar that went horizontally across his nose. His outfit consisted of a white coat covering blue pants and arming’s, and a smaller red cloak around his neck and upper chest. What stood out most of his attire, however, was what looked to be a wheel of blades on his back. “Your exploits were so impressive I couldn’t help but come and visit _the_ Scarlet Angel myself!” He said dramatically.

Irene looked unimpressed by the mans theatrics. “The Scarlet Angel?” She asked confused.

“It’s the name the masses have given you. The red-haired angel that felled the dreaded demon Deliora!” The mans said, holding his hands up as if praising the heavens. “To have a title so distinguished when revealing yourself to the world, my heart can’t help but pang with envy.” His hands flew down now over his heart, miming an ache of heart.

“You’re a Wizard Saint? I didn’t see you at the conference.” Irene said.

“I didn’t want to upstage your own reveal. I’m afraid a person of my standing tends to absorb attention.” He said faux-sadly.

She couldn’t help but roll her eyes. Like this man would hate attention. “Are Wizard Saints really that big a deal? They’re just strong mages.” Irene asked the man, knowing he would surely answer.

The man’s dramatic posing faltered for a moment. “You must really live under a rock.” He said flatly, before holding a hand to his face. “This cannot do. A Wizard Saint can’t possibly exist that doesn’t know who I am!” He swept his two hands to the side.

“Listen close! Among the ten Wizard Saints, the top four in strength are the known as the Four Gods of Ishgar. The Green Mage Warrod Sequen, Great Beast Wolfeim, and Vampire Draculos Hyberion. And finally, there is yours truly…” He said, gesturing towards himself. “…Eight-Dragon God Serena.” He finished, before bowing dramatically. Luckily, he missed the look Irene was giving him because of it. _Dragon…?_

“Are you… a Dragon Slayer?!” Irene said surprised.

God Serena raised himself, looking happily at Irene. “Yes! I’m surprised you have heard of such magic. As far as I know, I am one of the only users of the art in the continent, let alone masters.” He said proudly.

“But how?” Irene continued, disbelieving. “Dragon Slayer can only be learned from a dragon… or so I’ve heard. They went extinct ages ago.” She said, trying not to let on how much she knew.

“While dragons may be a distant memory to many, there still exists vestiges of their strength around the world, if you know where to look. It took many years, but I have managed to gather the power of many dragons into specially designed lacrima crystals, and after implanting them within me, I have gained the power of a dragon slayer eight times over!” God Serena declared dramatically.

 _With lacrima crystals? Such techniques are possible? And so many types of Dragon Slayer magic at once! Who is this man?!_ Irene couldn’t help but panic. The strongest mage in the continent was a Dragon Slayer, and she just became co-workers with him. Great.

“And besides, they aren’t all extinct.” God Serena said simply. _What?_

“They aren’t? Are you saying you’ve met one?” Irene asked curiously. Could there really be more Dragons out there.

God Serena shook his head. “To say I’ve ‘met’ a Dragon would be a bit misleading. I’ve have seen one, however. It’s not a story I tell many.” He said. “I always had a fascination with Dragons, beings of such might, ruling all of Earthland, and wielding Magic that no man could ever hope to hold. Eventually I tried to find a place known as Montes Secreta, rumoured to be in a secret mountain valley, where Dragons and Humans coexisted.”

“let me guess, you found it?” Irene asked.

God Serena nodded. “Yes, I believe I did. Upon mountainous plateaus stood the ruins of villages, filled with the bones of Humans and Dragons, and that’s when I saw _him_.” God Serena said vaguely, as if the beings name would somehow summon him. “He was a giant with wings that blocked out the sun, and scales as black as night.” Irene felt a chill go down her spine. _It couldn’t be…_

“I don’t think he saw me, but even still, I could feel his hatred for humans from even such a distance. I thought he would kill me with his mere presence. But he simply flew off to who knows where. Ever since then, I’ve made it my goal to become a Dragon Slayer and defeat him.” God Serena finished.

“That Dragon. Is its name…” Irene suddenly found herself hesitating.

“Yes, The Black Dragon King… Acnologia.” God Serena said, smiling dangerously.

Irene stood there for a moment, taking it all in. She shouldn’t be surprised, really. She knew that man had become bathed in the blood of so many Dragons that he turned like her and became a monster that Humans and Dragons alike feared. But to hear from someone else to have actually seen him, to still feel his hatred. She couldn’t help but feel like the Black Dragon was now suddenly going to jump out of every dark corner. She shook her head.

“There’s no way one man will ever reach the power of that Dragon. You best give up now.” Irene told her fellow Saint.

“I’m afraid I’ve devoted a lot of time to this task. It wouldn’t look good of me to give up now.” God Serena replied happily.

“Men.” Irene rolled her eyes unimpressed by the bravado. “… Just be careful. If you become too obsessed with that Dragon, you may become the very thing you wish to defeat.” She said, speaking from experience. She then walked past him.

God Serena stood there stoically, deep in thought, before tuning toward Irene and responding.

“The exit is that way.” He said pointing behind him.

Irene pivoted and strode past God Serena again in silence.

* * *

A day of flying later (she wasn’t going to take the train like Makarov) Irene found herself back in Magnolia. She waited for the train the Guild Master, Juliet, Heine, and her daughter were on and walked to the Guild Hall with them.

“Mom, if you didn’t take the train, how did you get here before us?” Erza asked.

“Magic.” Irene replied. Erza whined at the deflecting answer but decided to talk about something else instead.

“So, you’re really going to join Fairy Tail? It not some big joke for the Council, right?” She asked again.

“Yes, Erza. I’m joining Fairy Tail, and you can too. Not that I can stop you, as you have told me.” She said teasingly.

“I knew you’d get around to it eventually. You just needed some convincing!” Erza said, as if _she_ was the one that forced Irene’s hand into becoming a Fairy Tail member. Then again, this whole thing started when she got kidnapped, so to say Erza is the reason she joined Fairy Tail isn’t entirely wrong.

When they all walked in the door of the Guild Hall, everyone turned toward them and started talking at once.

“Guild Master, come get a drink with us!”

“Hey Makarov, Gildarts left already! I think that’s a new record!”

“Do we really have _two_ Wizard Saints in our Guild?!”

Makarov suddenly grew all the way to the roof, muscles appearing out of nowhere. “QUIET DOWN!” He said, voice booming across the Hall despite not raising his voice. He just as quickly shrunk down before continuing to talk to his Guild. “Wait until they are actually part of the Guild before you start badgering them, got it?”

All the Fairy Tail members quieted down but were still watching the soon-to-be members as they walked up to the bar. Makarov hopped up over the bar and out of sight. The sound of bottles clinking, and boxes shuffling could be heard. “Here we go!” He said, hopping up again and into the bar stool, with a stamp in hand. “Alright ladies, color and location.

A few moments later, the four of them were looking at the new marks on their bodies. Juliet had a white mark on her left arm, while Heine had a black one on her right, mirroring her partner. Erza’s was blue, on her left upper arm. Irene finally decided on a dark red mark in the same place.

Erza suddenly found herself mobbed by all the kids in the guild. They were all running around in excitement at her finally getting in.

Juliet and Heine looked over at Makarov. “Does this mean we get to keep our waitress job here? I really like it.” Juliet asked, with Heine nodding in agreement.

Makarov jumped up. “Of course, and you can start with handing out drinks in celebration of our new members, right everyone? Say it with me!” He proclaimed.

“WELCOME TO FAIRY TAIL!” Everyone in the guild shouted, holding their glasses and mugs high.

Irene looked around at the people she had just joined. While this was certainly outside of her comfort zone, she couldn’t help but think that this might be exactly what she needed. She smiled slightly.

“I’m looking forward to it.”

Next Chapter: Only Slightly Extinct 


	10. Only Slightly Extinct

It had been a couple months since Irene and her family had joined Fairy Tail, and she had settled into a pattern of sorts. She would pick the toughest job on the quest board, solve whatever problem was mentioned in the job listing in about a minute, pick up a magical item for Erza and head back to the guild. She would then give said item to Erza and give her a lesson on Magic (plus a lesson to the other dozen kids who kept following her around). Erza had grown in her magical abilities, but not in ways she expected.

Erza’s grasp of Requip Magic was amazing. She could put away and call forth items faster than even she could, and seemingly had more space than a child new to magic should. But everything else was a mixed bag. She could use basic abilities like telekinesis, but most other Caster Magics seemed to elude her. On the other hand, she seemed to be able to use any Holder Magic that she wanted. If the magic was in an item, Erza could use it no problem. Thus, Irene started acquiring an array of objects that her daughter could use on her jobs. 

Sometimes her abilities with them were beyond what they should be able to accomplish. Irene could only assume these abilities are from inheriting Enchantment Magic, as it is her own specialty. But whenever she asked Erza how she managed such feats, she would usually just respond with “Because I wanted it to.” as if wanting things to work better was the normal way of surpassing physical limitations.

Irene found herself walking back from one of these jobs currently, walking through a forest path in some back road. There had been reports of storms in the area, and the Magic Council had asked her to investigate, stating that they were unnatural and manipulating the Ethernano in the air. She was annoyed at being ordered around by those stuck up mages, but they actually paid rather well. Ten times the usual amount Jewels she received as a reward to just walk around the forest for a couple days? She’d be a fool to turn that down.

She was honestly disappointed though. She really thought there might be something out here if the Council was convinced there was. But there wasn’t much out here but wild forests. The only people she had run into were a group of rather simple living people, who seemed very insistent that nothing had happened in the area for ages. After nearly a week of wandering the areas laid out by the map the Council provided, she had found nothing. She was thinking it was about time to head home. She looked down to see the sun beginning to settle on the horizon. But she saw another thing that surprised her. Two things to be precise.

Walking along the overgrown path toward her were two children, a boy and a girl. The little girl appeared no older than five. She had short, dark blue hair, and appeared to be walking cheerfully forwards, looking at the scenery around her instead of the woman approaching them. But the other…

There was no doubt about it. The boy looked _identical_ to Jellal. Same height, hair, and face, right down to that weird tattoo around his right eye. He had a large pack on his pack, seeming to carry survival gear and a magical staff. He noticed Irene approaching, and stopped in his tracks. If she didn’t know any better, she would say the boy looked afraid of her. This definitely wasn’t right.

When Irene got right up to them, the girl finally turned to notice the oncoming woman. She looked surprised to see another person on the path as well and turned to her companion and began pointing at Irene. “Jellal, Jellal, look! We managed to find someone here!” The girl said excitedly. ‘Jellal’ looked up at Irene as she approached and grabbed the girl’s hand. She turned to look at ‘Jellal’ confused.

“Well, well. This seems to be a rather dangerous place for kids your age to be. What exactly are you two doing out here?” Irene asked.

The girl looked down sadly. “I got lost. I was just living with Grandeeney when I suddenly woke up in the middle of nowhere.” She said sadly. “But then Jellal found me. He said he’d help me find her.”

Irene looked over at the boy. “So, your name is Jellal? I’m not too surprised, you look like a Jellal.” She said slyly.

“Oh, I forgot. My name’s Wendy! Wendy Marvell.” Wendy said, bowing slightly.

“And who are you?” ‘Jellal’ asked, with an edge in his voice.

Irene raised an eyebrow. This clearly was a different person than the Jellal of Fairy Tail, but it was almost like he expected Irene to attack her at any moment. “My name is Irene Belserion, I’m a member of Fairy Tail.”

‘Jellal’ seemed shocked to here this news, while Wendy just tilted her head in confusion. “What’s Fairy Tail?” She asked.

Irene kept finding herself more and more confused with these two. “It’s a Mage’s Guild. Lots of people who use Magic work there.” She informed the child.

‘Jellal’ looked back at sun which had nearly set and darkening the forest around them. “Perhaps we could set up camp for the night? It is getting rather late, and it would be nice to camp with company for a change.” He suggested.

“… That seems like a good idea.” Irene agreed tepidly.

Irene and ‘Jellal’ began to set up their equipment, and the two children began to fall asleep. Irene sat there watching them, trying to figure out what the deal with these kids was. Were they related to the reason she was out here? Why is there a second Jellal? As Irene asked these questions, she could feel her eyes slowly closing. She didn’t remember being this tired earlier. Maybe she should get some rest too?

* * *

“Irene! Irene! Please wake up! I can’t find Jellal!”

Irene suddenly shot her eyes open, seeing Wendy trying to shake her awake. She looked around and noticed that all of ‘Jellal’s equipment had been backed up and was missing along with the boy himself. She looked up and saw the sun was almost at its peak. She couldn’t believe she slept till noon. She honestly couldn’t believe she had slept at all.

She got up to look around but noticed a piece of paper fall out of her coat. She reached down to grab it and saw it was labelled ‘Jellal’. “What’s that?” Wendy asked.

Irene opened the letter and read it before Wendy, just in case. She brought her eyes to the beginning of the letter.

_~_

_I want to apologize in advance for throwing this problem on you, but I don’t want to endanger Wendy. We may not have been together for a while, but I have really come to care for her._

_Please let her become a member of Fairy Tail. If what I know of the place is true, then it will be a great place for her to be safe and happy._

_I must do something dangerous, and I won’t get her involved in my battles. This is my fight._

_Also, I apologize for being weird around you. You just remind me of someone. Sorry._

_Speaking of, if you happen to know someone that looks like me, I apologize again for the confusion._

_Please look after Wendy for me._

_Jellal_

_~_

Irene looked down at Wendy, who was looking up at her worried. She couldn’t help but feel annoyed for having this dropped on her, but she also had no way out of this. She bent down closer to Wendy’s level and tried to find a way to explain the situation. “Wendy, I’m afraid Jellal… had to leave.”

Wendy looked shocked. “Where did he go!? Why didn’t he tell me?”

“I don’t know, but he said it was dangerous. I’m sorry Wendy.” Irene said.

“First Grandeeney, now Jellal. Why does everyone keep leaving?” Wendy cried, throwing herself at Irene.

Irene just pat the girl on the back, letting her get all the emotions out. After a while Wendy pulled back from Irene still sniffling, wiping the tears from her eyes.

“Wendy, where did you live? Who is Grandeeney?” Irene asked. Maybe she could return Wendy to her home.

“I don’t know where Grandeeney and I lived. It was in a forest, and there wasn’t anyone around for miles.” Wendy looked down embarrassed. “At least I think so. I never saw anyone when I was flying around on her back.”

“Flying? On her back? Is Grandeeney not your mother?” Irene asked confused.

“Yeah, she is! I know she didn’t give birth to me, but she’s taken care of me for as long as I can remember and taught me everything I know.” Wendy said, happy to talk about her mother.

“But is she a human?” Irene asked.

Wendy shook her head. “Nope. She’s a Dragon!”

Irene froze. “Wendy, what did Grandeeney teach you?”

“I tried to learn Dragon Slayer Magic. I was never able to do it though… But I know Healing Magic, and a couple of Enchantments. I like that better than trying to hurt others.” Wendy explained.

Irene didn’t know what to do. The girl didn’t appear to be lying, but it was clear that the this ‘Grandeeney’ was nowhere around here. She was willing to bet the Dragon wasn’t even alive anymore, considering the lack of reports of their species in the last few centuries. The only thing she did know was that she needed to keep an eye on her. Even if she hasn’t learned to use it, Irene could feel the enchantment of Dragon Slaying Magic on her, and Healing was considered a Lost Magic. Leaving her alone would be dangerous. Luckily, she had just the solution.

“Wendy, I think you should join Fairy Tail.” Irene stated.

Wendy looked at her in surprise. “Huh, What?”

“Jellal suggested it as well. There’s plenty of people there who can take care of you and can help you learn to use your magic. I can even teach you to use your Enchantment Magic.” Irene said.

“Jellal…” Wendy said sadly, remembering her missing friend. “Fairy Tail won’t leave me as well, right?”

“No. If there’s one thing I know about Fairy Tail, it’s that they never abandon their family.” Irene told Wendy, before picking her up and carrying her away.

* * *

“Now Wendy. There’s a couple of things I should tell you before we get to the Guild.” Irene said as they walked into town, hand in hand.

“What’s that?” Wendy asked.

“First, there’s someone in Fairy Tail that looks a lot like Jellal, he even has the same name.” Irene informed the girl.

“Really?!” The little Dragon Slayer said surprised.

“Yes, but he isn’t the same person that you were with before. I know it sounds weird, but the two are different.” Irene said.

Wendy looked down sadly. “Oh…”

“That doesn’t mean you can’t be friends with him too. Just thought to clear it up beforehand.” Irene clarified. “Also, you probably shouldn’t tell too many people that you were raised by a Dragon. That’s not exactly… normal around here.”

Wendy looked confused at the words but went back to looking around at the town around her, making amazed noises at all the people and buildings they passed until they finally reached the Guild Hall. “I think this house looks the best, is it yours?” She asked impressed.

“Ha, no. This is the Guild Hall, where everyone at Fairy Tail goes to get jobs and… other things.” Irene said.

“What other things?” Wendy asked.

Irene looked down at her. “Adult things.” Like getting plastered as hell and starting fights.

As they walked into the door, many of the Guild Members turned to look at the new entrants. Many raised an eyebrow at the child at her side, and some of the kids came over to greet them.

“Mom, who’s this?” Erza asked.

“This is Wendy. It’s a bit of a long story, but she’ll be joining the Guild.” Irene told her daughter.

Wendy noticed Jellal, who had come over as well. “Are you really… another Jellal?”

“Huh?” Jellal looked confused by the statement, and Wendy just looked down sadly.

“Anyway, I have to talk with the Guild Master. Where is he currently?” Irene said looking around.

“He’s in his office, talking with that stupid kid he brought back.” Gray said annoyed, nursing a bump on his head.

Cana turned to the Ice Mage and huffed. “Gray, just because he beat you in a fight doesn’t mean he’s stupid.”

“He didn’t beat me! He’s an idiot for yelling all that stupid stuff at the top of his lungs. I mean, he said he learned magic from a _Dragon_. It’d be like if I said I learned my magic from a demon or something.”

“I learned my magic from a Dragon.” Wendy said without thinking, before covering her mouth, remembering too late the warning Irene gave her. All the kids turned to look at the child in surprise and confusion.

Before things could get out of hand, Irene spoke again. “We can talk about all this later, the two of us have to go talk with Master Makarov now. Gray don’t get in any more fights. Erza, keep an eye on him.” She said before turning and dragging Wendy away toward the Third Guild Masters office.

“Wait, seriously?” Gray said annoyed.

“You heard my mother Gray, now get back in your seat or else…” Erza warned.

“Or else what, you’re gonna nag me to death- Gah! Okay I get it, just put the swords away already!” The boy shouted.

“… I’m sorry.” Wendy mumbled as they walked away.

“It’s fine. I doubt it would have been secret for that long anyway, considering you might not be the only one now.” _Somehow_. Irene was wracking her brain, trying to figure out what the deal with these Dragon Slayers was. She opened the door to Makarov’s office, and walked in just in time to see the Guild Master holding a pink haired boy on fire in a giant fist, shaking him up and down. Both stopped to look at the intruders to the space, and the boys seeming self-immolation suddenly extinguished itself.

“Natsu?” Wendy said in recognition.

“Wendy?” The boy, Natsu apparently, said similarly. Makarov released him form the giant fist, and he fell to the floor.

Irene observed the boy with a critical eye now that he was no longer covered by an oversized grip. He had spiky pink hair, and his mouth had overly sharp canines, much more like fangs. Most of his clothes looked old and tattered, except for his bright white scarf. Irene examined the article of clothing, reaching out with her magic. _Is that Dragon scales?_

“Do you two know each other?” Irene asked.

“No, I don’t know why I know his name. I can’t remember anything, but he just seems familiar…” Wendy said, a far off look in her eyes.

“Hmm, I feel like I know you from somewhere. You even smell familiar… Hey Gramps, where do I know this girl from?” Natsu asked Makarov.

“Why would I know?! Remember it yourself, you empty headed child!” Makarov yelled at Natsu.

“Natsu, were you really raised by a Dragon?” Irene asked suddenly, trying to get the conversation back on track.

“Yeah! My name is Natsu Dragneel, and my Dad is the Fire Dragon Igneel, and he’s the strongest ever!” He shouted for the room to hear.

Irene couldn’t believe it. _Igneel, The Fire Dragon King?!_ While Irene didn’t deny that there might be some truth to these children’s stories, she was unsure to take them at their word. But Igneel? Even she knew who Igneel was. He was one of the biggest proponents for coexistence between Humans and Dragons over 400 years ago. But there’s no way anyone not from that time would know that name. This confirms it, there is something up with theses kids.

“That’s certainly fascinating. Wendy, why don’t you introduce yourself.” Irene said, pushing her forward slightly.

“Um, m-my name is Wendy Marvell. My Mom is the Sky Dragon Grandeeney. It’s nice to meet you two.” She said meekly, bowing slightly.

Makarov looked at the girl in shock before shooting up to meet Irene’s gaze. She could only shrug, as this brand of crazy seemed to be becoming normal around here.

After a while of arguing with the nine-year-old living fireball, Irene and Makarov convinced Natsu to stick around at Fairy Tail so long as the two of them helped him find info on where Igneel went, which Irene was more than happy to agree to. She wanted to get to the bottom of this sudden influx of Dragon Slayers appearing. Both of them were given the Guild Marks, and then the adults began to hash out the specifics of their living conditions.

Makarov took care of Natsu’s arrangements, while Irene eventually decided to take Wendy in herself. The girl was too young to be on her own, and with her unique powers, there was to much risk leaving her alone. Wendy seemed conflicted about the idea at first, but when she explained the situation to Erza, she didn’t mind at all.

“So, I guess I have a little sister now?” Erza asked, looking down at the little girl to Irene’s side.

Wendy looked down worriedly. “I don’t want to get in the way… Are you sure this is a good idea?”

Erza walked over to Wendy and wrapped her in a hug. “I don’t mind! All of Fairy Tail is family, whether they’re living in the same house as us or not is no difference to me.” She said happily. Wendy seemed unsure, but eventually returned the hug.

Thank goodness her daughter was so reasonable. “Erza, can you take Wendy home, I need to talk to the Master some more.” Irene asked Erza. She nodded and began to walk out of the Guild with her new sister in hand.

Irene then walked over to the bar, where Makarov sat with two giant tankards in hand. Once Irene sat down next to Makarov, he offered one of the oversized drinks to her. She took the offered alcohol and took a swig.

“So… Dragons, huh.” Makarov said.

“Yep.” Irene said.

“You don’t seem too surprised by these child’s wild stories.” He noted.

“Do you not believe them? As for me, I’ve seen some crazy things. It’s not like Dragons never existed, it’s the fact that they haven’t been around for a while that’s the problem to me.” Irene explained her reasoning.

“Hmm, I suppose.” Makarov said, before taking a big swig of his beer. “Ahhh. In other news, Clear your schedule for next weekend. I have a little Fairy Tail field trip planned. Urgent Priority.” He said, before hopping down and walking toward his office.

She then heard someone sit in the seat next to her, and a voice call out for a drink. “Hey Juliet, the usual.” A familiar feminine voice said.

Irene turned to see Ur sitting next to her. She (thankfully) had all her clothes on, as they tended to be just as missing just as often as Grey’s and Leon’s. It was a problem that her entire family seemed to have, from their ‘intense mountain training’, sans Ultear. But she gave the girl a few months before she caught the strippers bug along with her new training.

Irene could see a bit of her prosthetic right leg between her shoe and pant leg. She had walked in on it along with her three children through Fairy Tails door two weeks after they had split up in the ruins of Deliora’s attack. Makarov nearly had a heart attack at seeing her walk in (Irene forgot to warn the old man, whoops), but quickly offered her family a place at Fairy Tail, no questions asked. Previously mentioned stripping habits aside, they were great to have around. Gray and Leon were always competing to be better than the other, and Ultear was quickly catching up to them. Their competitive spirit was pushing all the other kids around them into a training frenzy that was both impressive and worrying. They would go around to any mage in the guild using magic like them and demand to be taught something. It was already getting to the point where some of them were surpassing the adults of the Guild, which in turn pushed the adults to be better, not wanting to be surpassed by a bunch of kids a fraction of their age.

“So,” Ur said, turning to look at Irene with a smirk. “You take in strays as well now?”

Irene sighed. Ur had gotten rather close to the her ever since her arrival, for being one of the only mothers in the guild and for ‘getting the Council off her back’. Irene didn’t mind as it was also nice to have someone who knew her secret, or at least part of it. “She was raised by a Dragon. Both were.” She told Ur.

Ur nearly spit out her drink. “Really?!”

“Yeah, I’m just not sure how…” Irene said, annoyed by the unknown’s present.

“By the way, do you know what this ‘important’ field trip that the Master has planned for the two of us is? All I know is that Gildarts is coming along.” Ur asked curiously.

Irene looked over to said S-Class Mage, who was passed out face-first on a table, surrounded by a mountain of empty mugs. “No, but that’s not filling me with any more confidence.”

Next Chapter: There and Back Again – A Happy’s Tale


	11. There and Back Again – A Happy’s Tale

Irene sat meditating, trying to block out all outside sensation. There was nothing but her body and her mind. Her body that was rocking slowly, like a boat in the waves. Because it was on one, and it wasn’t waving slowly, it was crazy and- oh dear god.

Irene shot up and ran to the side of the boat, trying to look like she was taking in the view rather than about to throw up. She had an image to maintain dammit. She looked back to see if anyone else on bored was having issues but was sorely disappointed. Gildarts stood happily up at the wheel, steering the boat toward their unknown destination, and Makarov stood next to the S-Class Mage with a map spread out in front of him. Ur was laid in the middle of the deck on an outstretched lawn chair, having again stripped of most of her clothes and working on a tan from the heated sun above them. She at least had the foresight to put on a bathing suit, so her stripping habits were not resulting in too much indecency, yet.

It was just the four of them on the boat. Despite already having sailed for hours, neither of the men had said where they were going, only that it was of ‘utmost importance’. Which either meant that they were on their way to an SSS Class quest, or on a trip to restock the Guild’s alcohol supply. It was a coin toss.

“We’re here!” Makarov yelled down to the women on the deck. Irene put all her effort into looking toward the bow without puking and noticed something appearing over the horizon. “Oh, thank goodness…”

Ur got up from her sunbathing and began to put her clothes back on before walking over to join Irene. “That’s certainly not something you see every day.” She said pulling on her coat as their destination got closer. Irene couldn’t help but agree.

They were approaching an island, but from a distance it appeared to be a giant tree. Giant roots reached up from the middle of the island, with much greenery atop of them. But this greenery was not part of the roots, but resting on a giant slab of rock, almost as if the tree like structure had lifted a piece of the island into the heavens. The rest of the island was a chaotic mass of overgrown vines, serene waterfalls, and jagged cliffs.

“This is Tenrou Island, the Holy Ground of Fairy Tail, and resting place of the First Guild Master.” Makarov said, having approached the two women. “It is here that those who are worthy are tested to become an S-Class Mage.”

“Is that what we’re here for?” Irene asked.

“All will be explained in time. We’ll be docking shortly…” He said, before walking back up to the bridge. Irene and Ur looked at each other, feeling they understood both more and less than before.

The boat eventually pulled up to an old and tattered dock, and Irene practically fell off the boat in a rush to reach land. She slowly breathed deeply, feeling the world had stopped spinning.

“Come.” Makarov commanded after he and Gildarts had secured the boat. They followed the master for a way, until they reached a cave with eight branching paths. Makarov simply walked down the fourth to the left entrance without stopping. After walking for a while down the caves path, Makarov stopped in front of a mass of vegetation. “In here.” He said, before pushing the vines aside to reveal… a stone wall?

Makarov rubbed the back of his head, before walking along knocking all the vines in the path aside. “Oh, hmmm. Sorry girls, all these secret patches of vegetation look the same. Ah ha!” He exclaimed, finally revealing a hole hidden behind in the cave side. “Right this way! Gotta remember to trim this for next year…”

Gildarts now led the group, with Makarov in the back. Light began to emanate from ahead, and the group walked through an opening into blinding sunlight. When Irene opened her eyes, she found herself in a large clearing. In the back stood a simple grave. There was no writing on it, being multiple light stones carved into a symmetrical design. It was slightly overgrown with moss, and clearly hadn’t been touched in ages.

Makarov walked up to the grave and lowered his head, clasping his hands together in prayer. Gildarts too, much to Irene’s surprise. Makarov lifted his head, before turning to look at Irene and Ur. “This is the grave of Fairy Tail’s First Guild Master, Mavis Vermillion. It is also the final destination for all who take the S-Class Mage Promotion Trial.” Makarov said seriously.

“I see...” Irene said solemnly, lowering her head in respect for a moment, before shooting it back up. “Wait, final destination!? Does that mean-”

“Yep! You two are now S-Class Fairy Tail Mages. Congratulations!” Makarov exclaimed. “Welp, time to head on back. I think that’s the fastest trial by far, eh Gildarts.”

“What trial? All you did was take us on a boat ride! You’re not going to test either of us?” Irene said incredulously.

“Are you kidding? You two are plenty strong enough. I’ve seen you both fight firsthand. Any ‘test’ we attempt would probably level the island.” Gildarts said, as if Irene had asked the stupidest question in the world.

“But we’ve barely been in the Guild for half a year!” Ur said, just as confused.

“And yet you’ve accomplished more than most do their entire time with us. Not to mention shown great love for Fairy Tail as your family. We saw no reason to hold off a promotion just because an arbitrary amount of time hadn’t passed.” Makarov said shrugging. “We mostly just took you here because it’s tradition, and as S-Class Mages it would be weird if you didn’t know them.”

“So that’s it? We’re just going to hop back on that dreadful boat and head back? You know I get motion sickness dammit!” Irene yelled.

“There was one other reason I came out here…” Makarov said.

“And what is that?” Irene said annoyed.

“Only those with the Fairy Tail mark are able to find this island. There is no person other than us four for miles. It allows for a great amount of privacy.” Makarov said, getting suddenly serious.

“Uhh Makarov, where are you going with this?” Gildarts asked worried.

“I know there’s something going on here Gildarts. As much as you think you got away with it, I know you didn’t tell me everything about the fight with Deliora. I didn’t care much about it, but then this stuff with the Dragon Slayers happened. Now I’m not usually one to believe in old rumours, but I can’t help but think that there’s some truth to those kids’ words.” Makarov said, looking at Irene. “So then maybe you can tell me, why they both asked why you smell like a dragon?”

Irene gripped her staff hard enough that she began to break it. “What does it matter to you?” She questioned, looking at Makarov with a barely maintained look of neutrality.

“As Guild Master, it is my job to protect my family from any threats. Are you one?” Makarov asked.

Irene looked at Makarov for a moment, before turning and walking toward the center of the clearing.

“Irene, what are you-?!” Ur began to ask Irene, before she suddenly began to change. In a couple of moments, where a woman once stood was a great red Dragon. It stood on all four legs, looking down at the Guild Master below it. All the people were looking up at the majestic beast in awe, even though two of them had already seen it before.

**_“WHAT WOULD YOU DO IF I WAS?”_** A deep feminine voice bellowed out, reminiscent of Irene’s.

Makarov looked up without an ounce of fear. “I would fight you, no matter how dangerous you were.” Before grinning. “But I don’t have to do that, do I?”

**_“CRAZY OLD FOOL.”_** The voice said, before continuing telepathically _. ‘You didn’t really think this was a smart idea, did you?’_ The Dragon said before sitting down.

“I just needed to be sure, but I wasn’t that worried. Like I said, you treat Fairy Tail like family.” Makarov said. “Speaking of family, do you actually know what the deal with those Dragon kids are?”

_‘No. But they are telling the truth, most likely. The Dragon’s mentioned did exist, and there is no lacrima within them providing the magic. It is the logical conclusion.’_ Irene said. She had been sure to check with Wendy once she fell asleep. While she didn’t find a lacrima like how God Serena used, there was a slight difference to the way that the enchantment was done. She couldn’t figure out what though.

“Hmm. Well, I guess we’ll have to keep an eye out either way.” Makarov said. “By the way, just to check, your daughter…?”

_‘Is entirely human. It’s a long story, but let’s just say I didn’t always look like this.’_ Irene confirmed, flaring her wings out for emphasis.

Makarov nodded. “Right. Well, is that’s all let’s head back to the boat and head back.”

_‘hahaha, No.’_ Irene said flatly. _‘I’m going to stay here and have a nap. I’m not getting on that boat ever again. I’ll catch up later, not like anyone will run into me here.’_

Makarov looked like he wanted to argue but decided that he’d antagonized the house sized beast in front of him once enough already. “Fine… I suppose it would be nice for the First to have some company. See you back at the guild.”

As the rest of the group began to leave, Irene rested her head and closed her eyes. She just sat there for a few hours taking in the peace and quiet. Makarov wasn’t kidding, this island really was in the middle of nowhere. She would have to remember this place for future resting. Not even a chance for anyone to interrupt her-

“Hello there!”

**_“WHAT THE FU-”_ **

Irene stared down at the little girl before her in confusion. The surprise visitor had wavy blonde hair that went down to her bare feet, and an intricate dress. She tried to sense the person with her magic but found she couldn’t, so she lifted one of her forelegs toward the mystery girl and tried to poke her with one of her large claws.

The claw went right through her as if she wasn’t even there. Irene quickly withdrew her claw in surprise and stared at the girl in confusion. _‘Are you… The First Master?’_ Irene guessed.

“Yep, the name’s Mavis! I must say, you’re the first dragon I’ve met. Well, living one at least.” She said cheerfully.

_‘What are you, a ghost?’_ Irene asked.

“Hmm, something like that. The others don’t know I can do this, and it’s better that I keep a low profile.” Mavis said sadly.

Irene could understand how she felt, in her own way. _‘And how am I different?’_

“You seem like you can keep a good secret. Besides, the Third was right, I’m really bored.” Mavis said, like an exasperated child.

_‘Well… what do you want to talk about then?’_ Irene asked after a moment of silence.

Mavis made a noise of contemplation as she walked over to her own grave, before jumping up and sitting on it. “Just tell me about the Guild. I usually get to see some of the members during the S-Class trials, but no one’s dropped by in ages.” 

Oh, right. Gildarts is the only S-Class member currently. She had no idea when he became one, or if there had been any new ones between then and now, but Irene couldn’t help but feel that there wasn’t, considering she hadn’t heard of one. Irene thought about her 400 years of isolation and decided that she didn’t want anyone else to go through that if she could help it.

_‘Well, I’m not sure what it was like when you founded it, but everyone there seems to have a few missing marbles.’_ Irene said amusingly.

Mavis let out an undignified snort. “Oh please, Fairy Tail’s always had a few screws loose. Tell me something _new_.”

* * *

Almost a year had passed since the Dragon Slayers surprise arrival, and Irene had made it a habit to stop by Tenrou island to visit Mavis every month or so between jobs. Due to being an S-Class Mage, Irene now had access to the ‘coveted’ second floor job board. Funnily, it was entirely empty when her and Ur first went up to it for the first time.

This was because Gildarts was a raging workaholic. He would take basically every job he could find on the board, stuff them into a duffel like a sack of presents, go off for a year or two while he completed all of them, return, get drunk, and repeat the process. The two of them had to chase Gildarts down a mile out of Magnolia in order to get an S-Class Job, and to also lecture the man to leave some jobs for the rest of them.

These jobs were harder than the standard ones, but that wasn’t saying much. Most of the normal jobs simply involved solving magic related problems, though some of them were unrelated. Fruit gathering, stage plays, and babysitting were all jobs that she had seen listed on the board. Irene felt these people didn’t quite understand the purpose of Magic Guilds, but she wouldn’t complain, as it gave the kids of Fairy Tail something to do. S-Class jobs on the other hand, were true life and death issues. Slaying infamous monsters, solving mysteries that have claimed lives, or dangerous criminal bounties. These jobs were more entertaining to Irene, as she sometimes needed more than five percent of her brain in order to solve them.

The major downside to these jobs, however, is that they tend to take a while to complete, meaning she was around Erza and Wendy less often. They couldn’t be taken on these dangerous missions, not that Irene hadn’t thought about it. Luckily, Erza was getting rather independent lately, and seemed to be helping take care of Wendy nicely as well. She was glad the two of them got along so well, as the arrangement was rather out of the blue. Juliet and Heine were always around to keep an eye of them, but the girls needed their mother.

Speaking of out of the blue, Irene constantly felt blindsided every time she returned to the Guild. There was always something different, something new. And the change this time was no different. In the center of the Hall, there was a pink and white egg the size of a person. And next to it was Erza, dressed as a giant chicken, hugging it.

“What.” Was all Irene could really say.

“Oh, Mom! Your back.” The egg seemed to say, before Wendy poked her head out from behind it. She got up and ran over to hug Irene, who was still trying to take in the sight before her. Eventually she walked over to get a better look.

“Erza? What are you wearing?” Irene started with.

“It’s the Feathered Incubation Armor. It’s feathers naturally heat up to simulate a mother hen sitting on an egg. I had to special order it from one of those sorcerer magazine articles.” Erza said, not budging an inch.

“Right…” Irene said, looking around the Hall for any clues to the mystery in front of her. All she saw were other mages watching the display with either interest or amusement. She finally realized she wasn’t going to get an answer unless she outright asked and decided to bite the bullet. “Girls, why is there a giant egg in the middle of the Guild Hall?”

Elfman walked over to try to clear the air. “I found two giant egg’s in the East Forest. Nobody knows what they are from, so we’re trying to hatch them!” He said excited.

Irene made another glance around the Guild before asking nervously. “What happened to the other one?”

“Natsu and Lisanna ran off into the woods with it like a week ago.” Mira explained. “Knowing him, he’s probably eaten the thing.” She added unnecessarily.

Irene rolled her eyes at the jab towards Natsu, but couldn’t bring herself to defend him, as she agreed. Just then, a young voice bellowed out behind her. “Someone help!” She whirled around, to see a giant egg with legs behind her. The egg was white and blue. The egg ended up on the ground, revealing Natsu as the true owner of the legs. He looked up at Irene at Irene in relief. “Oh, Irene! I need help, our egg is acting strange! It started shaking!”

Lisanna ran up behind him, before bending over, taking ragged breathes. Clearly, she had chased the Dragon Slayer all the way here. “Natsu, haa… I told you it’s supposed to do that, phew…”

Irene reached down towards the blue egg in front of her and was about to ask what the problem was, before it suddenly shook. “Ah?!” She heard a voice yelp behind her and turned to see the pink egg behind her was shaking as well. Erza was still hugging her egg but looked more worried than before. The two eggs began rattle more, before cracks appeared along the top of the shells.

“It’s hatching!” Wendy exclaimed, drawing the attention of the entire Guild. Everyone stopped drinking to look at the spectacle at the entrance. As more and more cracks formed, lights began to shine out. In a single moment, both eggs stopped moving, before almost bursting open in a flash of light. Everyone shielded themselves from the light and flying eggshells.

When the Guild finally looked back, they found the two eggs fallen to pieces, replaced by two feline creatures. “A cat?” Irene couldn’t help but ask in disbelief.

The one in front of Natsu, which was blue all over, suddenly sprouted wings. “Aye!” It said in a cute voice, then rose above the patrons before floating around the Guild. Everyone was enamoured by the new creature, all looking happily at its peaceful flight. It eventually floated back over toward Natsu and Lisanna. Lisanna held out her arms, and the flying cat landed softly in them. “Happy, that’s what your name should be.”

Natsu looked disappointed. “But Lisanna, I told you I wanted to name him Igneel II…”

Lisanna turned her head. “And _I_ told you that was silly.” Irene shook her head as they began bickering. _Those two…_

Irene turned to look where the other egg had been, and saw its occupant was a feline creature much like the blue one, Happy. This one was white though, and something about her instincts told her it was female. She seemed less active than her male counterpart, instead just sitting on the floor from where she had hatched, looking around confused. Wendy walked over to the cat(?) and hugged her. “Don’t worry, we’ll take care of you.” She said.

The white feline seemed shocked, but Erza came over (still in her chicken suit) and hugged the two of them as well. “I suppose we’ll have to think of a name as well, won’t we?” She told Wendy.

Wendy looked at Erza. “I already thought of Carla. Do you think that’s alright?”

“That sounds great.” Irene told her daughter, before looking back at the still bickering couple of kids behind her. “Better than anything Natsu would come up with.”

As the Guild celebrated the new arrivals, Gildarts sat in the corner of the hall slowly drinking at the tankard in his hand. He smiled at the sight of the cute creature flying in the air, then looked at Irene with a more serious expression. With her and Ur around, Fairy Tail has plenty of strong mages to take care of them even without him here. He looked down at the job offer in his hand, truly contemplating it for the first time since he’d joined. It would probably be the toughest job he ever took, but he couldn’t help but feel excited at that. _Hundred Years Quest, huh…_

Next Chapter: Heart of the Cards


	12. Heart of the Cards

It had been two years since Irene had become an S-Class Mage, and her daughter looked close to following in her footsteps. While Erza was never able to overcome her problems with Caster Magic, she had found clever ways to overcome these issues. She had begun to collect not only weapons but armor as well, which she is able to use to great affect. Normally switching armor and weapons mid-fight would be suicidal and time consuming, but for Erza it was as simply of casting Requip. And with the space that Erza had, she could fit enough equipment to field an entire legion. This had resulted in her developing some unfortunate tendencies however, one of which Irene was currently dealing with right now.

“Erza, I forbid you from ever wearing that armor!” Irene said seriously.

“You can’t tell me what to do, I’m fifteen! Besides, what’s wrong with it?” Erza replied.

“It’s a bunny suit! You look like-” Irene stopped herself before glancing at Wendy and Carla sitting in the corner of their living room, who were trying to ignore the two redheads. “Someone from an unsavory establishment…”

“Bunny _Armor_. It’s a very practical piece of equipment that increases my jump height and it allows me to kick harder.” Erza explained, as if putting ‘armor’ at the end was all she needed to explain.

“You got armor last week that let you fly! Why do you need this? And some tough shin-pads doesn’t constitute ‘armor’.” Irene said. Damn her daughter and her complete lack of shame!

“Flying and Jumping are two very different things.” Erza began to explain. “This helps me get to a good height for gliding. And the jumping force doesn’t have to be release up, it can-”

“All right, I get it.” Irene stopped her daughter before she could go on for an hour about the benefits of bunny legs. “Just, don’t wear it casually. While our guildmates might forget sometimes, there is such a thing as public decency.”

“Got it, thanks Mom!” Erza said happily before using her magic to switch into a more standard armor. “I was going to take Wendy out on a job today. See you at the guild!”

“Alright, see you two there.” Irene said as her kids ran off to the Guild Hall to pic a job for the day. Erza had been taking jobs like crazy lately, as had most of the Guild, due to the upcoming announcement on who would be participating in the S-Class Promotion Trials. Ever since Irene and Ur had gained their ranking people had been shooting for the spot of S-Class Mage harder than ever. She could only imagine that this was due to Gildarts being the only S-Class mage to judge themselves by, which would be impossible by most humans. But now that two more Mages have joined the prestigious ranks, even if they were famous ones like her and Ur, people saw it as possible.

Unfortunately, most of them didn’t stand a chance. A lot of them were just glory seekers or had overblown ego’s, seeing as there weren’t any good candidates for last years, despite being able to pick from almost a hundred members. Makarov had already discussed the matter of who would be given a chance at participating in the exam a month ago for this year’s event, and nothing short of a miracle would change the list. There were currently four people on that list. As she walked from her house to the Guild, she decided to evaluate them again.

First and foremost, there was Makarov’s grandson Laxus Dreyar. Irene hadn’t seen the teenager much, as at nineteen, he was to old to hang out with the other kids but too young to be one of the ‘adults’, no matter how hard he tried. Laxus seemed strong enough for the title of S-Class Mage to be sure, with a mastery over Lightning Magic, but his attitude was a problem to Irene. This issue seemed well known, as when Irene mentioned it to Makarov he simply nodded before muttering about Laxus ‘taking to much after his father’. He seemed to have little time for those he saw as beneath him, and Irene feared that giving him more power would only result in him becoming worse.

Secondly was Mirajane Strauss, “The Demon”. Irene couldn’t believe how much Mira had changed since she first met her back then. She had slowly but surely mastered how to use her Take Over Magic, and with the power of a demon she was basically unbeatable in combat against anyone else in the Guild. She had yet to master the powers gained from Deliora yet though, as any time she had used it since first receiving it resulted in her losing control of her emotions. But otherwise her use of other kinds of Transformation Magic has excelled, and she had taught her younger siblings much. Her personality was hard to pin down at times though, switching from caring and motherly to competitive and temperamental at a heartbeat. She didn’t just have her nickname just because of her Magic, but she never said anything truly hateful and was mostly teasing, so it wasn’t too big a problem.

Thirdly was Jellal. He was incredibly talented when it came to Magic, having learned multiple elements before finally learning a style of Magic that satisfied him. He settled on Heavenly Body Magic, and had made great strides in his studies, having already reached the expert spells. He had a strong sense of justice, as seen by his large following. Most of them are from his time trapped by those Cultists, where the kids seemed to rally around him as a figurehead. He was tough, strong, and self-sacrificing. He was going to become an S-Class Mage, if not this year then the next.

Finally, there was her own daughter, Erza Belserion. Erza’s talent and adaptability quickly put herself above her peers, and she seemed to keep climbing. Her attitude toward her guildmates was exemplary as well. While Makarov always insisted that Fairy Tail was one giant family, Erza took the statement seriously. She stuck up for all the members no matter who they were, and she took care of all the younger ones like a big sister. She was honestly surprised by her daughter’s growth and push to become an S-Class mage. After a while she couldn’t help but ask Erza herself, and she was quite surprised by the answer.

_“Fairy Tail’s my family. If I become an S-Class Mage, then that means I can protect them better, right? I can’t be saved by you all the time.”_

Irene couldn’t help but think that her daughter was taking this a little too seriously. To put the wellbeing of the entire Guild on your shoulder was the job of the Guild Master, but her reasons were her own. She knew well enough that it was impossible to change her daughters mind when she set a goal.

Ultear had also been considered, but Ur shot the idea down insisting that she needed more time to train. Ultear’s training had been going well, as she no longer needed the cuffs to limit her Magic, but sometimes her spells failed due to a lack of control. Despite this, she had surpassed Grey and Lyon in their teachings for a while now, so it was only a matter of time.

As Irene reached the door to the Guild, she was nearly knocked over by a blue blur exiting it at the same time. Irene stepped out of the way, and the person sized projectile skidded to a halt where she had originally been standing. “Ah, sorry Mom!” Wendy said quickly. “I’m going on a job with Erza and Jellal but we forgot the job offer so I had to have Carla fly us back so anyways see you later we’ll be back by tonight!” She said as Carla spread her wings and they began to fly back to the train station. Irene just shook her head. The one thing about being a Wind Dragon Slayer is that Wendy sometimes never knew when to take a breath.

Irene walked into the Guild Hall to see most of the members crowding around the job board trying to squeeze in as much jobs as they could. She ignored them all and walked up to the second floor, reserved for the S-Class Mages. Up there sat Gildarts on the one table set up for the few privileged to reach it. He had been sitting up here for a while now effectively under house arrest, so he doesn’t wander off until after the S-Class Promotion Trials are over. Normally he would be sitting up here with a drink in hand, but there was no alcohol in site today. All that was on the table was a single piece of old paper, a job request.

“What’s that?” Irene asked, sitting down across from the surprisingly somber and sober man. Gildarts sighed before sliding the job over to her. She picked it up and glanced at the title. _Hundred-Year Quest._

“You know how there are job ranks past S-Rank, yes? SS-Rank, SSS-Rank. If a job remains incomplete for over a decade, it becomes a Ten-Year Quest. That,” Gildarts pointed to the job in Irene’s hand. “Is the only Hundred-Year Quest in the world.”

Irene looked at the job request, interest piqued. She looked over the page for any details but found there was nothing but a location and a warning of almost certain death. There was an image of a shadowy creature, but it was clearly nothing more than a placeholder. “What is the job though?” She asked confused.

“Don’t know. It’s on an entirely different continent, and no one’s ever come back alive…” Gildarts mused.

“And what, you want to take the job? I thought you were crazy not suicidal.” Irene said.

“ha ha.” Gildarts laughed sarcastically. “Seriously though, I’ve been thinking about taking it for a while. I was always worried about the guild though, if they’d be fine with me being gone for good. But with you and Ur around, and the way the next generations shaping up, I think the Guild’s in good hands without me.”

Irene looked at Gildarts weirdly. “You are the weirdest thrill seeker I’ve ever met. Are the other S-Class missions really not enough for you.”

“What, you worried about me? I just want to challenge myself, what’s wrong with that?” Gildarts said. Irene just shook her head and walked over to the C-Class job board.

“I think being stuck in the Guild all day is making you stir crazy.” Irene said as she grabbed one of the jobs off the board and walked back. “Come on, let’s go.”

“I thought I wasn’t allowed to go on any jobs?” Gildarts said.

“You’re not allowed to go on any jobs _alone_. Don’t worry, I’ll make sure you’re back in time for bed.” Irene said teasingly. Gildarts just sighed and got up, following her down the stairs towards the exit. As they passed by one of the tables, they heard a couple voices that drew their attention.

“I see, you will have trouble with women and metal in the future…”

“What does that even mean? Is it two separate problems, or am I going to be attacked by a girly statue or something?”

The two adult s turned to see Cana observing a set of cards in front of her and Grey wildly fretting over them. Ultear was sat next to Cana giving him an unimpressed look.

“What’s going on here?” Gildarts asked. Cana nearly jumped of the bench she was on, turning to look up at the S-Class Mages in surprise. She sat there floundering, so Ultear eventually decided to answer for her.

“Cana was telling our fortunes! She’s gotten pretty good at card magic, right Cana?” Ultear said, before elbowing the girl next to her.

“Oh, right. Yes.” Cana said before turning back and gathering the cards in front of her.

“Hmm, sounds pretty cool.” Gildarts said, before wandering over to the side Grey was having a panic attack on and shoving him aside. “Move over squirt, it’s my turn!” He said excitedly. Irene rolled her eyes at the man’s childishness.

Cana just sat there, looking worried. “Come on Cana! Can’t you tell his fortune?” Ultear said, just as excited as Gildarts.

“I’m Sorry, just give me a moment.” She said nervously, before shuffling her cards and looking up at Gildarts. “Ok, lets see…” She began by flipping two cards over. The first was an old man in a hood holding a lantern, the second was of a man being hanged upside down, but the card was flipped, making the man seem upright.

“The Hermit and Reverse Hanged Man. The lone man has an important choice to make but is indecisive.” Cana said.

“Sounds right so far…” Gildarts said, staring at the cards. Cana flipped two more over. One was of a tower in chaos, and the other was a woman in front of a bright star.

“The Death and Star. It will bring great transformation, or renew your faith and purpose, depending on your choice.” She said again.

Gildarts looked even deeper at the cards in front of him. “But how do I choose the correct path?” He was getting really into this. Cana flipped two more cards. The first was of a decorative wheel surrounded by mythical creatures, and the second was of a man about to walk off a cliff, put upside down. Cana just sat there staring at the results silently, producing many worried looks. “… Is it that bad?”

“The Wheel of Fortune, and Reverse Fool. You will not make the choice and hold yourself back. Instead the choice will be made by… hands of fortune.” Cana said nervously.

“Hands of fortune? Do you mean yourself? No offence, but this sounds like the start of a ponzi scheme. You better not start trying to sell something to me.” Gildarts said, amused by the turn of events. “Well that certainly cheered me up at least, thanks kid.” He got up and ruffled Cana’s hair as he walked off to the door.

“Are you done playing around?” Irene asked annoyed.

“Oh, come on, I needed to lighten up after talking about that job…” Gildarts continued talking as they walked out the door.

Cana suddenly turned to the door and reached out a hand. “Wait-” But the door slammed closed, and they were gone without noticing at her all.

Cana sat frozen, holding her hand up to the closed door for a moment before lowering her arm and head sadly. She just looked down at her hand through her ruffled hair, hating it for not ever reaching him. But that just meant she hated herself for being such a coward.

“Cana, are you Ok?” Ultear asked. “Don’t worry about that fortune. Gildarts is the strongest, there’s no way anything bad will happen to him.” She tried to comfort her.

“Why would I care about Gildarts?!” Cana said quickly, trying to gather her cards up. “I mean, of course he’ll be fine. I’m gonna go so- Ah, shit!” Cana exclaimed, accidentally knocking her cards on the floor. She reached down to collect the mess but kept talking. “It’s not like that idiot has anything important to lose! It’s not like anyone would care if he went and got himself killed or anything!”

Ultear reached down. “Cana?”

“What?!” Cana yelled back; eyes filled with tears. She looked around and realized that people were beginning to stare at her. She brought up an arm to wipe her tears before getting up and running out of the Guild.

Ultear watched her friend run out and looked down at the cards all over the floor of the hall. _‘The choice will be made by the hands of fate.’_ She looked up and felt that Cana would need help making her decision this time.

* * *

Ultear found Cana about a couple hours later crouched behind a church building. She had run around town for a while before giving up and asking the Guild Master where Cana lived. He had been reluctant to share the information at first, but when Ultear explained the events of earlier in the day he relented, leading her to a church orphanage on the outskirts of Magnolia. She knew that Cana probably didn’t have any parents considering how long she’s lived at Fairy Tail alone, but to see it herself.

“Cana, are you Ok?” She asked again.

“AH!!” Cana yelled, jumping up to her feet. “H-how did you find me?” She asked accusingly.

Ultear looked down guiltily. “I asked the Guild Master. I’m sorry for just showing up like this.” She held up one of her hands, revealing Cana’s cards tied together with string within it. “I wanted to return these to you.”

Cana looked surprised at the cards in Ultear’s hand, putting a hand on her side pouch, before remembering what happened to them. She walked over to Ultear and picked them up. “Thanks, I guess.” She said.

They both stood there in an awkward silence, the sun behind the church casting them both in the shade. Finally, Ultear decided to say something. “So… Have you always lived here?”

“Really?” Cana said, giving her friend a very unimpressed look.

“I’m sorry, that was a dumb question wasn’t it? It was just the first thing I-” Ultear started.

Cana sighed before interrupting. “It’s fine.” She said, leaning against the wall behind her and sliding down it. Ultear sat down beside her. “I came to Magnolia almost ten years ago to join Fairy Tail after my Mom died. I was just a stupid kid with no money or talent, but the Father here took me in along with all the other orphans.” She sighed once again before looking up at the sky. “I’m going to move out when I turn fifteen. Don’t want to be a burden to the others here any longer than I have to be.”

“You came here that young, just to join Fairy Tail? Why would you do that?” Ultear asked.

“My Mom was married to someone in Fairy Tail. He was my Father. I joined in order to find him.” Cana explained.

“Did you?” Ultear asked.

“Yeah… But I couldn’t tell him.” Cana said sadly.

“Your Dad is Gildarts, isn’t he?” Ultear said surely.

“… Please don’t tell anyone.” Cana said after a moment.

“Why couldn’t you tell him?” Ultear asked confused.

“Because he’s God Damn Gildarts!” Cana yelled. “He’s the strongest mage in the Guild. He’s a loner, he-, he wouldn’t want anything to do with a weakling like me! I can’t tell him the truth, not until I’m strong enough that he’ll accept me!”

They sat there again in silence for a while. Cana let out a sad laugh. “I bet you think I’m stupid. That I’m just some scared little girl.”

“No.” Ultear shook her head.

“What?! Why not?” Cana asked, annoyed at having her pity party interrupted.

“Because I was a stupid girl like that once too.” Ultear said.

“What do you mean?” Cana asked inquisitively.

“Well, since you’ve talked about your tragic backstory, it’s only fair I tell you mine.” Ultear said. “When I was little, I got sick. To much magic for my body to handle or something. Mom gave me to some crazy scientists without realizing it trying to help me. They shipped me away, told Mom I’d died, then told _me_ that my Mom wouldn’t come back until I got ‘stronger’.”

“And you believed them?” Cana said disbelieving.

Ultear shook her head. “Not at first. I thought Mom was going to swoop in any minute and save me from the bad men. But after a year of those experiments, I started losing faith. Eventually I convinced myself that she really didn’t want me back, so much so that when Erza came and rescued me, I almost didn’t want to leave.”

Cana started to reply. “But you’re Mom’s amazing! It’s not her fault she didn’t know you were alive!”

“Exactly.” Ultear said. “I got this messed up vision of the truth in my head, and the longer time went on the more warped it got, even when I knew that my Mom loved me unconditionally. Sound familiar?”

Cana thought for a moment before realizing what she had said. “T-That’s different. You knew that Ur loved you, you got to know her love beforehand!” She complained. “I don’t know that about Gildarts. How do I know that he’ll care about me?”

“He already cares for you.” Ultear said, producing a confused look from Cana. “Don’t you remember the way he treated you earlier? Fairy Tail is family, and no one treats that more seriously than Gildarts. You see the way he roughhouses with Natsu and the others, how he made time to hang out with you. Besides, if Gildarts was married to your Mom, I’d say that’s a pretty good guarantee, despite his workaholic nature.”

Cana contemplated what Ultear said, before speaking. “Even with all of that, what if he doesn’t care. What if he doesn’t want anything to do with me.”

“Then you’ll always have Fairy Tail as family, no matter what.” Ultear said. “And then I’ll tell my Mom to kick his ass!”

Cana let out a snicker, and two girls slowly started laughing together at the idea. After the two calmed down, she looked over to Ultear. “You’ll be with me if I tell him, right?”

Ultear looked over smiling. “What are friends for?”

* * *

It was late in the evening by the time Irene and Gildarts finally returned from their job. They looked fine to the casual eye, but a critic might notice the singed edges of their cloaks. They walked into the empty hall of the Guild still arguing about their little adventure.

“Why did you jump _into_ the mouth of a fire breathing monster, again?” Irene said irately.

Gildarts just laughed. “That’s where monsters are weakest right? Besides, I knew you’d use an enchantment on me. Didn’t feel a thing.”

Irene shook her head. “Just barely. How you manage to complete these jobs by yourself is anyone’s guess.”

“Excuse me…”

The two S-Class Mages looked forward to see a nervous Cana standing in front of them, with Ultear slightly behind. Cana looked back at Ultear, who gave a nod of encouragement, then looked forward again with a serious face. “Gildarts, I have something important to tell you. Can we talk upstairs?”

Gildarts raised an eyebrow at the sudden request, but eventually shrugged. “I don’t see why not. This wouldn’t have to do with your fortune earlier, would it?” He asked as the two walked towards the stairs.

She just sighed as she walked up the steps. “About that…”

As the two exited sight on the upper floor Ultear sat down at the bar, and Irene waltzed up beside her. Ultear couldn’t really hear what was going on, only hearing a raised voice every now and then, but Irene seemed to be able to hear everything judging by her reaction. Suddenly, she looked down. “Not knowing to love and deciding not to love are two very different things, and it’s important to never equate one with the other.” Irene said.

After a few shouts, yelling, and crying in the distance, Ultear finally heard feet descending the stairs. She looked up to see Cana and Gildarts smiling as they walked down together, with Cana’s arms wrapped around one of her fathers. Irene just nodded. “Luckily, families tend to give love, no matter the time or distance between them.”

Next/Final Chapter: Fourth Times the Charm


	13. Fourth Time's the Charm

Erza alone looked at the S-Class job board in front of her, up on the second floor. Her eyes scanned across the various options available to her, all with various warnings of death and danger to those who took them. To the average person these jobs may feel threatening, but they made her feel strong. It was proof that she was finally able to face the worst the world had to offer, and that she was tough enough to take it. She thought back to the many S-Class Promotion Trials she had taken, and how hard she had fought to get here.

The first one couldn’t even be called a contest. No matter how talented she and her friends were, they were nothing compared to someone with experience like Laxus. She was pretty sure the Lightning Magic User went out of his way to take them out on his way to the proverbial finish line. The fact that Laxus still managed to pass despite kicking his own guildmates to the curb so violently told her something about his power.

The second time had been a lot closer, as it was just her, Mira, and Jellal that time. She got pretty close to passing but Jellal and her got into such a competitive mood that they forgot the original goal of the test, and Mira ended up passing while they fooled around.

The third test was just plain weird (and stupid, depending on who was asked). She thought she had done well but Jellal managed to squeeze ahead of her. And not only that, they were both outdone by some guy Erza had never seen in the Guild before. Seriously, who the hell was Mystogan, and how did he pass the test without her even seeing him _once_?

The fourth and final test is when Erza finally had enough. She decided to take a page out of Laxus’s book and win by any means necessary, including stocking up on equipment designed to counter every member in the Guild. Looking back, it probably wasn’t that necessary, as none of the other candidates that year could really stand up to her, except maybe Ultear. But she had known that ahead of time and bought as many fire weapons and cold resistant gear as possible. Their fight during the test made her feel less like a knight and more like a gardener, and she was pretty sure Ultear was still bitter about the result. But in the end Erza stood victorious atop a pile of frozen thorns and defeated guildmates, and she finally became an S-Class Mage of Fairy Tail.

There was only one downside to finally reaching this prestigious group however, her new nickname. People around the guild had plenty of nicknames for her before, the Sword Maiden, the Weapon Wizard, or even sometimes That Crazy Girl with the Pointy Things. Due to the fame of her new position though, many tablets had taken to using a new nickname to refer to her like the others in her position, like Mira’s already existent moniker “The Demon”. Her mother made quite the name for herself before she joined as the Scarlet Angel who defeated the demon Deliora, and after she joined Fairy Tail they had taken to calling her Titania, Queen of the Fairies. It was a nice name Erza thought, but she also hated it for what it did to her nickname, because if she was the Queens daughter then there was only one ‘appropriate’ title for her. Erza Belserion, the Fairy Princess…

She made her opinion on the name quite clear to her guildmates when Natsu and Grey decided to tease her with the article of Sorcerer Weekly that first debuted the name. No one dare mention the idea of royalty in the Hall anymore, lest they spend a week stuck being treated and lectured to by Porlyusica.

She looked among the jobs but didn’t quite feel any of them calling to her. She understood that they were important but going into one of these missions without your heart 100% into it was a quick way to get killed. This wouldn’t be her first S-Class job, but she hadn’t taken one in a while. She was used to going on jobs with her sister, but these jobs were too dangerous for Wendy, as she had yet to learn any offensive Magic. She didn’t like going on these jobs alone yet but didn’t want to risk getting her family hurt. Especially after last years incident with the Strauss’s. So, she had taken to partnering with other S-Class Mages, but that had become harder as time went on.

Gildarts never went on jobs with other people, mostly because any time he wasn’t on a job he was with Cana. The fact that the two were related came as a huge shock to the guild, and even more that he had been married. Seeing the mysterious and aloof Gildarts going around like a doting father may have broke the minds of some of the weaker members. It was hard to find a time to ask him about a joint mission. He also had the tendency to pick the longest and most dangerous jobs, which defeated the point of her partnering up for safety.

Jellal was usually her go-to choice, as he seemed to drop anything to go on missions with her. She couldn’t really tell why he was so keen on hanging out with her, but Wendy looked up to him like a brother, so she didn’t mind since it made her sister happy. Lately though, he’d been busy. He seemed to always be running around Fiore, taking random jobs that seemed different from his usual preferences. When she asked him about it, all he said was “Sometimes the important jobs aren’t the ones that can be said”, which sounded suspicious, but he was smart enough not to get in trouble so all Erza could do was shrug and move on.

Mystogan was… not an option. The man only took jobs when no one else was around and cast a sleeping spell so that no one could see him as well. She once got a piece of equipment that protected against sleep and tried to stalk the man when he took a job (for entirely good reasons, of course), and she tracked the masked man for a couple blocks before he disappeared. Next thing she knew she was asleep face first in a puddle, sleep-warding helmet weirdly missing.

Mira was also one of her usual partners, but after _that_ mission she refused to take anyone along on her missions, even if that person was a fellow S-Class mage. Erza had tried to talk Mira out of her frankly paranoid stance, but it’s been two years now and it seemed nothing short of a miracle would be able to change her mind at this point. Erza got a sad chuckle at the irony of asking for an act of god to save someone know as “The Demon”, before continuing to check her options.

Laxus already had his own squad of tag-alongs, the Thunder God Tribe, as they called themselves. Erza would not have done jobs with him if he wanted her to anyways. Laxus was violent and anti-social and his opinions on the Guild, which he was sure to inform everyone of when around, would be grounds for excommunication. Erza believed the only reason he was in Fairy Tail still was because the Master thought his grandson would have a change of heart. She also believed that Laxus would only change his mind through a few good punches to the face, but she didn’t think she would be able to get away with that.

Ur mostly took her own kids with her on missions, since they are all also her students. While she didn’t always take them, Erza couldn’t help but feel it would be awkward going on a mission with them. Besides, that probably would mean going on a mission with Ultear, and Erza was pretty sure she was still upset about the last Promotion Trial. That would be slightly awkward.

Finally, that left Erza with only one option. Her own mom, Irene Belserion. The two of them went on S-Class jobs all the time before she herself became an S-Class Mage herself. Her mother was very protective and was the one who insisted that Erza never go on a mission alone. She would always go on missions with her no matter what. But…

She hadn’t seen her mom in almost four years. No one had. The last memory Erza had of them together was on the way back from an S-Class job. They had been tasked with finding and dealing with whatever had destroyed a mountaintop on the edge of the kingdom. They walked around for a day or two but found nothing but rubble and had the job cancelled. But she remembered her mom looking like she had seen a ghost. When Erza questioned if her mom had found something, she said just one thing.

_“Only the heart to do what I feared, even if it meant protecting my family.”_

Erza had assumed she was trying to impart some message about the importance and dangers of S-Class missions and thought little of it. When they got home, mom said goodnight to her and Wendy, and they went to bed. The two sisters woke up the next morning and found nothing of their mother but a letter. It said that she had needed to go on an important mission, that she loved the two of them very much, and if they needed anything to tell the Guild Master. She had marched dawn to the Hall that day at the crack of dawn with a crying little sister to demand where their mom had gone, but Makarov insisted that it was highly classified, and important that she not be disturbed on her mission. Erza couldn’t tell if he was telling the truth, or had no idea, and was just trying to lessen the damage.

Erza was upset but was willing to forgive her mom slightly. The Magic Council sent out surprise missions all the time, this one would be no different. But then a week past, a month, a year. One year turned to two, and Erza started getting worried. After four, Erza was getting worried, and Wendy was distraught. Wendy couldn’t handle having her second mother disappear on her as well and had nearly given up training her magic all together now. Erza on the other hand kept trying to find what her mother had gone after. She combed the mountains they were last together on a dozen times over, took the most dangerous jobs she could find to see if her mother had been there, but no matter what she did, she found nothing.

So here she stood in front of the S-Class job board, looking for what job she believed would be the next lead in finding her mother. She felt like Natsu, running at the sight of any mention of something big and red. She used to think that he was overeager, that he needed to take a moment to calm down and think, but now that she was in his shoes she didn’t know what to do, and was pretty sure there was no way to find out.

“We’re back!” A voice yelled. Speak of the devil and he shall appear. Erza turned away from the job board and walked over to the second-floor railing. Looking down from it she could see Natsu and Happy, as cheerful as ever after completing yet another job. Behind the two loudmouths was Lisanna, rolling her eyes at the two’s overly enthusiastic entrance, but still just as glad to have returned home.

“Lisanna, you’re back! Did anything bad happen? Did you get hurt anywhere?” Mira said as she ran over to hug her younger sister.

“I’m fine sis, _as usual_.” Lisanna said, exasperated at her older siblings fretting. “Anyways, we actually brought someone back from our job with us, says she wants to join Fairy Tail.” She said, gesturing to a woman behind her.

She looked to be about Lisanna’s age, with long blonde hair. She was about the same height as her with a slightly larger bust, though that might have just been due to the cleavage her blue and white shirt allowed Erza to see from her perspective on the balcony. She had a short blue skirt with a whip attached to it along with a set of keys, many of which were shining gold. She seemed both happy to be here and nervous to have attention called to her and bowed slightly before speaking. “My name is Lucy Heartfilia. I’d be honored if you would let me join the Guild. If you’ll have me, that is.”

“Of course we would!” Erza exclaimed. The new girl looked up to the second floor to meet her gaze. “Fairy Tail is not just a guild, it’s a family, and we’d never turn away family.” She smiled before continuing.

“Welcome to Fairy Tail!”

End of Prologue - Irene Belserion: Queen of the Fairies

Coming Next: Fairy Tail: Secret Sage Saga Arc 1 - Lullaby in the Sky


End file.
